UC Davis News FeedNews from the University of California, Davis.https://www.ucdavis.edu/
enWed, 21 Feb 2018 15:50:00 -0800Wed, 21 Feb 2018 09:59:59 -0800When Every Fish Countshttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/when-every-fish-counts
Genetic tools can be a powerful complement to visual identification of endangered fish, indicates a study from the University of California, Davis.https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/when-every-fish-countsWed, 21 Feb 2018 15:50:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>Genetic tools can be a powerful complement to visual identification of endangered fish, indicates a study from the University of California, Davis.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10592-018-1048-9">the study</a>, published in the journal <em>Conservation Genetics</em>, researchers conducted genetic analysis on fin clips from endangered delta smelt, threatened longfin smelt and invasive wakasagi smelt. The fin clips were among those collected as part of the Yolo Bypass Fish Monitoring program. </p>
<h2><strong>One-third misidentified</strong></h2>
<p>The scientists were looking for signs of hybridization, which they found is not a significant threat for this population of delta smelt. But the genetic analysis detected something they had not expected: About 27 percent of the fish originally thought to be native delta smelt in the Yolo Bypass were actually nonnative wakasagi. Overall, roughly a third of the samples were misidentified.</p>
<p>The co-authors emphasize that this was a sampling from one section of the delta smelt’s habitat. The results do not suggest that there are fewer delta smelt overall than previously thought. Co-author Brian Mahardja from the California Department of Water Resources said the agency’s monitoring program caught almost no delta smelt during the first 10 years of sampling in the Bypass but caught more than ever within the past five years.</p>
<p>“The results of this study do not alter the long-term abundance trends of delta smelt in the Yolo Bypass, but it does mean we need to genetically identify our fish for higher accuracy,” Mahardja said.</p>
<h2><strong>A complement to surveys</strong></h2>
<p>Delta and longfin smelt are native to the San Francisco Estuary but have experienced drastic population declines in recent years. The latest California fish survey in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta found only two delta smelt during four months of trawling from September to December.</p>
<p>Efforts to protect delta smelt have made it the target of debate between environmentalists seeking to protect the ecosystem and interest groups seeking increased water deliveries for farming and urban uses. Surveys of native fish abundance inform management decisions and lead to policy changes that affect millions of Californians.</p>
<p>“Genetic identification can be a great complement to traditional surveys, particularly where visual identifications are challenging,” said lead author Alyssa Benjamin, a lab technician with the UC Davis Department of Animal Sciences.</p>
<h2><strong>Younger smelt harder to identify</strong></h2>
<figure class="image align-right"><img alt="smelt comparisons" height="499" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/resize/news/general-news/2018/feb/smelt_comparison4-514x499.png" width="514" /><figcaption><em>Comparison of different smelts. The top left is a correctly identified delta smelt, and top right is a correctly identified wakasagi smelt. Bottom left is wakasagi that was originally thought to be a delta smelt. (Photos: Brian Mahardja/California Department of Water Resources.) Bottom right is a delta smelt and wakasagi hybrid (Photo: Rene C. Reyes/ US Bureau of Reclamation, Fish Conservation and Culture Laboratory).</em></figcaption></figure><p>The study demonstrates the difficulty of identifying these fish solely by appearance. Delta, longfin and wakasagi smelt have similar features and a capacity to hybridize with each other. While it is possible to distinguish the three species by sight, hybrids are nearly impossible to distinguish by looks alone.</p>
<p>Wakasagi smelt present additional challenges. As juveniles, wakasagi can look identical to delta smelt. A key distinguishing feature is that wakasagi develop several spots under their jaw, while delta smelt do not. But these spots do not tend to emerge until the wakasagi are older, making identification among juveniles more challenging. In fact, 95 percent of misidentified fish were juveniles.</p>
<h2><strong>Not all areas analyzed </strong></h2>
<p>Delta smelt live only in the San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which includes the Yolo Bypass, a 59,000-acre floodway protecting Sacramento and the southern Sacramento Valley from seasonal flooding.</p>
<p>The researchers note that the study did not analyze all areas where delta smelt are surveyed. Misidentifications are most likely to occur in areas where both delta smelt and wakasagi are present. This includes the Yolo Bypass but is not expected to include the entire estuary.</p>
<p>The Yolo Bypass Fish Monitoring Program also uses a unique, rotary screw trap, which is checked once a day for sampling. Some of the fish are in various stages of decay by the time biologists check the trap, which can make identification more difficult. </p>
<p>“Many of the factors affecting the identification are specific to this area of the Yolo Bypass,” Benjamin said. “I think other areas of the Delta will find better accuracy, so we’d have to explore those areas before making any assumptions about the rest of the estuary.”</p>
<p>Additional co-authors on the study include Ismail K. Sağlam from UC Davis and Hacattepe University in Turkey, and James Hobbs, Tien-Chieh Hung and Amanda Finger of UC Davis.</p>
<p>The study was funded by the California Department of Water Resources.</p>
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<p> </p>See ‘West Side Story’ Movie at a Discounthttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/see-west-side-story-movie-discount
The Department of Music is bringing the Oscar-winning West Side Story to campus and inviting staff, faculty and students to attend the screening at discounted prices.https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/see-west-side-story-movie-discountTue, 20 Feb 2018 16:15:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>The Department of Music is bringing the Oscar-winning <em>West Side Story</em> to campus and inviting staff, faculty and students to attend the screening at discounted prices.</p>
<aside class="wysiwyg-feature-block width-half align-right"><h3 class="wysiwyg-feature-block__title">AT A GLANCE</h3>
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<p><strong>WHAT: </strong><em>West Side Story </em>(1961 movie)</p>
<p><strong>WHEN:</strong> 7-9:35 p.m. Friday, March 2</p>
<p><strong>WHERE: </strong>Recital Hall, <a href="http://campusmap.ucdavis.edu/?b=257">Ann E. Pitzer Center</a></p>
<p><strong>WHY: </strong>In celebration of the centennial of composer Leonard Bernstein's birth</p>
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</aside><p>The movie, derived from the Broadway play, which was based on <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>, tells the love story of Tony and Maria amid two warring street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, in New York City in the mid-1950s.</p>
<p>The screening celebrates the centennial year of the birth of Leonard Bernstein, who wrote the <em>West Side Story</em> music. The legendary composer died in 1990.</p>
<p>Bernstein’s score with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim first accompanied <em>West Side Story</em> on Broadway, opening in 1957. The film version, starring Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno and George Chakiris, won 10 Academy Awards, including best picture and director — actually two directors, Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, the latter who also won a special award for his choreography. He had earlier won a Tony Award for choreographing the dance and fight scenes for the stage.</p>
<p>The Bernstein centennial screening is scheduled from 7 to 9:35 p.m. Friday, March 2, in the Recital Hall of the <a href="http://campusmap.ucdavis.edu/?b=257">Ann E. Pitzer Center</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://tickets.mondaviarts.org/single/SelectSeating.aspx?p=5090">Tickets are available </a><a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/tickets.mondaviarts.org/single/SelectSeating.aspx?p=5090">via the Mondavi Center’s online box office</a> (for the staff-faculty-student discount, enter promo code FAMILY50 in the upper right-hand corner of the form, and click submit, before ordering your tickets).</p>
<p>Or visit or call the Mondavi Center box office:</p>
<ul><li><strong>Hours — </strong>noon-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and one hour before all ticketed events</li>
<li><strong>Telephone —</strong> 530-754-2787 or 866-754-2787</li>
</ul><p><a href="https://twitter.com/UCDavisDateline"><em>Follow </em>Dateline UC Davis<em> on Twitter.</em></a></p>HEALTHY UC DAVIS: Stigma, Decisions and Drummershttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/healthy-uc-davis-stigma-decisions-drummers
A webinar is set for Thursday (Feb. 22) about ending stigma surrounding mental illness, and March will bring a workshop on “Honoring Your Health Care Decisions” and a new Well-Being Ticket Deal (to see Yamato: The Drummers of Japan).https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/healthy-uc-davis-stigma-decisions-drummersTue, 20 Feb 2018 15:53:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>A webinar is set for Thursday (Feb. 22) about ending stigma surrounding mental illness, and March will bring a workshop on “Honoring Your Health Care Decisions” and a new Well-Being Ticket Deal (to see Yamato: The Drummers of Japan).</p>
<p>Also, for those of you signed up for the next Gentle Lunchtime Yoga series, take note: The start date has been pushed back a week to Tuesday, Feb. 27. Registration opened in January, and the class is full. The new dates are Feb. 27, and March 6, 13 and 19.</p>
<p><strong>Mental health webinar — </strong>All faculty and staff in the UC system are invited to attend a webinar from 1 to 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, about ending stigma surrounding mental illness — stigma that can prevent people from seeking help. With this program, UC Human Resources launches an effort to raise awareness about mental health issues and reduce barriers to treatment.</p>
<p>Stephen Hinshaw, professor of psychology, UC Berkeley, and professor of psychiatry, UCSF, will present the lead-off webinar, speaking on the social and personal costs of the stigma surrounding mental illness — especially what can be done to open dialogue and ensure access to needed treatments. He will share insights gathered both through his distinguished research career and his family history, explored in his 2017 book, <em>Another Kind of Madness: A Journey through the Stigma and Hope of Mental Illness</em>.</p>
<p><a href="https://ucop.zoom.us/j/941574800">Here’s the link to participate online.</a> Or, you can attend by phone: Call 408-638-0968 (Meeting ID 941 574 800). A recording will be available on the <a href="http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/working-at-uc/livingwell/index.html">UC Living Well website</a> as soon as possible after the event.</p>
<p><em>More information about UC’s behavioral health benefits, including free services through faculty and staff assistance programs, is available </em><a href="http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/health-plans/behavioral-health/index.html"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<p><strong>“Honoring Your Health Care Decisions” —</strong> A free workshop for students, faculty, staff and retirees, 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, in 130 Hoagland Hall. Presented by the Staff and Faculty Health and Well-Being Program in partnership with Healthy UC Davis and UC Davis Health. Topics: medical options, documenting health care preferences, finding a health care agent and starting the conversation about your health care wishes. Call 916-734-0718 to sign up. Questions? Send an email to <a href="mailto:healtheducationclass@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu">healtheducationclass@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu</a>.</p>
<aside class="wysiwyg-feature-block width-half align-right"><h3 class="wysiwyg-feature-block__title">ANOTHER TICKET DEAL</h3>
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<p>The Department of Music is bringing the Oscar-winning <strong><em>West Side Story</em> </strong>to campus Friday night, March 2, and inviting staff, faculty and students to attend the screening at discounted prices. <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/see-west-side-story-movie-discount"><em>Read more about this movie event and get the promo code for discounted tickets.</em></a></p>
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</aside><p><strong>Well-Being Ticket Deal for March —</strong> Staff and faculty can buy discounted tickets at $10 each (limit two per person) to see <strong>Yamato: The Drummers of Japan</strong>, scheduled to perform at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 18, at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.</p>
<p>Spectacularly visual, in costuming and high-energy movement, these taiko masters present <em>Chousensha</em> (The Challengers), in which they challenge their own limits physically and rhythmically, expressing emotions related to overcoming obstacles in their lives.</p>
<p>The Mondavi Center and the Staff and Faculty Health and Well-Being Program are partnering to offer a ticket deal a month, through May. For each month’s deal, you must purchase your tickets from the 1st to the 14th.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mondaviarts.org/event/2017-18/yamato%E2%80%94-drummers-japan"><strong>Tickets for Yamato: The Drummers of Japan</strong> are available online</a> (for the Well-Being Ticket Deal, March 1-14, use promo code<strong> </strong>DRUMMERS18<strong>).</strong></p>
<p>Or visit or call the box office:</p>
<ul><li><strong>Hours — </strong>noon-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and one hour before all ticketed events</li>
<li><strong>Telephone —</strong> 530-754-2787 or 866-754-2787</li>
</ul><p><a href="https://twitter.com/UCDavisDateline"><em>Follow </em>Dateline UC Davis<em> on Twitter.</em></a></p>THE DOWNLOAD: Energy from Coffee, Energy Savingshttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/download-energy-coffee-energy-savings
The Peet's inside the International Center is now open.https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/download-energy-coffee-energy-savingsTue, 20 Feb 2018 12:01:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<figure class="image align-right"><img alt="Peet's inside the International Center" height="304" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/resize/news/campus-news/2018/feb/peets-international-center-300x304.jpg" width="300" /><figcaption>The Peet's inside the International Center is now open. (Kraig Brady/UC Davis)</figcaption></figure><p>The campus has another new place to get coffee, and now nearly all of UC Davis is within a five-minute walk of a hot cup of java.</p>
<p>A Peet's Coffee kiosk opened earlier this month inside the <a href="http://campusmap.ucdavis.edu/?b=259">International Center</a>. It opens at 8 a.m. each weekday, and stays open until 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 2 p.m. on Fridays. It also offers pastries and premade sandwiches.</p>
<p>Of course, that isn't the only place on campus to get coffee, and Dining Services has a new map showing just how many options UC Davis has.</p>
<p><a href="http://housing.ucdavis.edu/maps/dining-locations/">The map, which is available on the Dining Services website</a>, shows circles around Peet's and ASUCD coffee outlets, even the Hyatt Place hotel — to designate two-minute and five-minute walking times.</p>
<p>And if you're craving something more substantial, <a href="http://housing.ucdavis.edu/dining/locations/food-trucks/">Dining Services is now updating a calendar of the food trucks on campus each day</a>. The schedule lists food trucks in separate locations on campus — click on the name of the trucks and then "more details" to see where they'll be.</p>
<figure class="image"><img alt="Map of distances from coffee on campus" height="650" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/news/campus-news/2018/feb/coffee-walking-map_0.jpg" width="861" /><figcaption>A larger version of this coffee map can be seen <a href="http://housing.ucdavis.edu/maps/dining-locations/">on the Dining Services website</a>.</figcaption></figure><a href="https://twitter.com/UCDavisFire/status/964992225561079808" class="media-link"><div class="media-link__wrapper" data-url="https://twitter.com/UCDavisFire/status/964992225561079808">
<div class="media-link__figure"><img alt="Fire engine being pushed into the station" height="135" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/news/campus-news/2018/feb/fire-truck-pushing-in.jpg" width="135" /></div>
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<h3 class="media-link__title">Twitter video: Welcoming the new fire engine</h3>
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<p><em>UC Davis Fire Department</em>: Thanks to everyone who came out to our “push-in” ceremony for new Engine 34!!! It was a great welcome home from our @ucdavis community.</p>
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<p><em><a href="https://twitter.com/UCDavisFire/status/964996764502712320">See photos from the welcome ceremony</a> and </em><a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/chancellor-thanks-firefighters-who-battled-thomas-fire"><em>read more about the new Engine 34.</em></a></p>
<h2>How much energy is saved over a holiday?</h2>
<p><img alt="Energy saved over Veteran's Day" class="align-right" height="135" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/resize/news/campus-news/2018/feb/veterans-savings1-400x135.png" width="400" />As the campus sat quiet Monday (Feb. 19) for Presidents Day, it was saving energy. Heaters were turned down in empty buildings, reducing costs for the campus. When that happened over the three-day Veterans Day weekend last fall, the campus saved nearly $5,000.</p>
<p><a href="https://eco.ucdavis.edu/blog/veterans-day-weekend-shutdown-savings">The Energy Conservation Office outlines how much is saved over various holiday weekends — and how much comes from steam, chilled water and electricity costs — on its blog</a>.</p>
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BfKF17BA-JD/" class="media-link"><div class="media-link__wrapper" data-url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BfKF17BA-JD/">
<div class="media-link__figure"><img alt="Anna Shumaker" height="135" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/news/campus-news/2018/feb/anna-shumaker.jpg" width="135" /></div>
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<h3 class="media-link__title">Instagram: Aggie alum a ninja again</h3>
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<p><em>Anna </em><em>Shumaker: </em>ROUND 2!! I am so excited to announce that I have been selected to compete on American Ninja Warrior Season 10! Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who continues to support me through my Ninja Warrior journey, it’s truly what keeps me going. I can’t wait to get back on that platform in just 3 short weeks!!</p>
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<p><a href="https://twitter.com/ucdavisdateline"><em>Follow</em> Dateline UC Davis <em>on Twitter</em></a>.</p>Bronze for Brita!https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/bronze-brita
Brita Sigourney, the U.S. freeskier with Aggie roots, saved her best for last and won the bronze medal in the halfpipe in the Pyeongchang Games on Tuesday (Feb. 20), or Monday night where we live.https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/bronze-britaMon, 19 Feb 2018 19:57:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>Brita Sigourney, the U.S. freeskier with Aggie roots, saved her best for last and won the bronze medal in the halfpipe in the Pyeongchang Games on Tuesday (Feb. 20), or Monday night where we live.</p>
<figure class="image align-left"><img alt="Brita Sigourney flies above halfpipe." height="239" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/resize/news/campus-news/2018/feb/brita-action-642-293x239.png" width="293" /><figcaption>Brita Sigourney flies through the halfpipe in the final round, en route to winning the bronze medal. (NBC)</figcaption></figure><p>She skied cleanly on her first run in the final, scoring 89.80 — which put her in third place among the 12 finalists going into the second run. She skied clean again, scored an 88.60, and held onto third place going into the third and final run.</p>
<p>Eight skiers entered the halfpipe, each one having a chance to move into the top-three — the competition was decided by each skier’s best run of the day — but no one did. Until Annalisa Drew, Sigourney’s teammate who skied right before her, had her turn — and moved into third place with a score of 90.80.</p>
<p>Sigourney dropped in knowing the score she had to beat to secure a top-three spot — and she did so with a 91.60, earning her first medal in two Winter Games. She placed sixth in Sochi.</p>
<a href="https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/965784087792443392" class="media-link"><div class="media-link__wrapper" data-url="https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/965784087792443392">
<div class="media-link__figure"><img alt="Two skiers embrace." height="135" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/news/campus-news/2018/feb/embrace-135.png" width="135" /></div>
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<h3 class="media-link__title">Twitter: ‘Teammates forever’</h3>
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<p><em>NBCOlympics:</em> “Fierce competitors on the halfpipe, but teammates forever,” showing video of Brita Sigourney’s run, ending with an embrace from Annalisa Drew, whom Sigourney had just bumped out of third place.</p>
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<p>Olympics newcomer Cassie Sharpe of Canada led the whole way with scores of 94.40 and 95.80 on her first and second runs (she fell on her third run, but it did not matter), and Marie Martinod of France held second place the whole way to earn the silver just like she did in Sochi.</p>
<p>Sigourney’s parents Thad and Julie, graduated from UC Davis in 1976, and brother Brendan graduated in 2009. Brita enrolled in 2008, but left early to join the newly established U.S. freeskiing team.</p>
<p>UC Davis’ only other Winter Games medalist has a similar story: Jonny Mosely enrolled in 1995 but left school early to focus on his training that would lead to gold in moguls in Nagano in 1998.</p>
<h2 class="heading--underline">Earlier coverage</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/aggie-freeskier-advances-olympics-final">Aggie Freeskier Advances to Olympics Final</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/more-aggie-pride-olympics">More Aggie Pride in the Olympics</a>, about Sigourney and another Aggie, Aliyah Cohen ’15, a design major, who, as a designer with The North Face, had a hand in making the U.S. Freeski Team’s uniforms.</li>
</ul><p><a href="https://twitter.com/UCDavisDateline"><em>Follow </em>Dateline UC Davis <em>on Twitter.</em></a></p>Aggie Freeskier Advances to Olympics Finalhttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/aggie-freeskier-advances-olympics-final
Aggie Olympian Brita Sigourney twisted and flipped her way into the top three in qualifying in the halfpipe in Pyeongchang, making it into the final to be held Monday (Feb. 19) — which will be Tuesday in Korea.https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/aggie-freeskier-advances-olympics-finalSun, 18 Feb 2018 19:50:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>Aggie Olympian Brita Sigourney twisted and flipped her way into the top three in qualifying in the halfpipe in Pyeongchang, making it into the final to be held Monday (Feb. 19) — which will be Tuesday in Korea.</p>
<figure class="image align-right"><img alt="Brita Sigourney, goggles on, ready for her second run" height="284" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/resize/news/campus-news/2018/feb/before2c-750-337x284.png" width="337" /><figcaption>Sigourney: Ready for her second run. (NBCOlympics.com)</figcaption></figure><p>Twenty-four freeskiers vied Sunday late afternoon-evening our time (Monday in Korea) for 12 spots in the final, where Sigourney will go for her first Olympic medal after finishing sixth in Sochi four years ago.</p>
<p>In qualifying in Pyeongchang, she skied cleanly on both her runs, scoring 90.60 on each of them and finishing in third place — best on the U.S. team.</p>
<p>She had plenty of style, not only on her skis, but in what she was wearing: a team uniform that another Aggie, <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/more-aggie-pride-olympics">Aliyah Cohen ’15 had a hand in making, as a designer for The North Face</a>.</p>
<p>The final is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. PST Monday (Feb. 19).</p>
<p><em><strong>Note: </strong>Don’t make the mistake I did for the qualifying round. I thought NBC would televise it. No, NBC did not televise it. I finally found it, late, online, and the final will be online, too. You can watch for an unlimited time for free when you verify that you have a cable, satellite or livestreaming TV subscription. </em></p>
<p>Sigourney enrolled at UC Davis in 2008, becoming an Aggie like her parents, Thad and Julie, both ’76, and brother Brendan ’09. She left school early to join the newly established U.S. freeskiing team, subsequently earning a trip to the 2014 Games in Sochi where freeskiing made its Olympic debut.</p>
<p>Now, going into the final in her second Games, she trails Canada’s Cassie Sharpe, with a high score of 93.40, and France’s Marie Martinod, with a high score of 92.00. Sharpe is a first-time Olympian, while Martinod won the silver medal in Sochi.</p>
<p>Sigourney and two of her teammates made the Pyeongchang final. She is joined by Annalisa Drew, who finished fourth in qualifying with a high score of 86.00; and the gold medalist from Sochi, Maddie Bowman, who finished sixth in qualifying with a high score of 83.80.</p>
<p>The 12 finalists will get three runs each, and each skier’s best score is the one that counts.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/UCDavisDateline"><em>Follow </em>Dateline UC Davis<em> on Twitter.</em></a></p>More Aggie Pride at the Olympicshttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/more-aggie-pride-olympics
Last week we reported on our Aggie Olympian, Brita Sigourney, who is scheduled to compete next week in her second consecutive Winter Games. We have since learned of another Aggie alumna, Aliyah Cohen, who not only has a connection to the Games — but to Sigourney herself!https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/more-aggie-pride-olympicsSun, 18 Feb 2018 15:42:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>Last week we reported on our Aggie Olympian, Brita Sigourney, who is scheduled to compete next week in her second consecutive Winter Games. We have since learned of another Aggie alumna, Aliyah Cohen, who not only has a connection to the Games — but to Sigourney herself!</p>
<p>Cohen graduated in 2015 as a design major, with textile science as a minor, all the while being active with Campus Recreation and Unions’ Outdoor Adventures, as a winter guide, and whitewater, backpacking and sea kayaking guide, and whitewater guide instructor.</p>
<figure class="image align-right"><img alt="Aliyah Cohen, portrait, on beach" height="246" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/resize/news/campus-news/2018/feb/aliyah-cohen-green-750-410x246.png" width="410" /><figcaption>Cohen at Point Reyes, on a backpacking trip with Outdoor Adventures trip. (Courtesy Aliyah Cohen)</figcaption></figure><p>With her adventurous nature and fashion and design skills, you shouldn’t be surprised that she landed a job with The North Face, maker of outdoor adventure equipment and apparel. She joined the company about a year and a half ago, hired as a contract designer to assist in the making of the competition uniforms for one of our U.S. teams. Guess which one? U.S. freeskiing — Sigourney’s team!</p>
<p>“I had no idea that Brita was an Aggie,” Cohen said by email after <em>Dateline UC Davis </em>informed her of the Aggie connection. “I just met her at Mammoth Mountain for the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix” — where the U.S. Freeski Team announced its roster for the Olympics. “(The North Face) sent us to give out part of the uniform to the athletes as a celebratory gesture.”</p>
<p>Sigourney hopes her next celebration is in Pyeongchang, where qualification runs in her event, halfpipe, are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. PST Sunday (Feb. 18), and final runs at 5:30 p.m. PST Monday (Feb. 19). <strong>Note: When first posted, this article gave incorrect dates for the women's halfpipe competition; the dates are now correct.</strong></p>
<figure class="image align-left"><img alt="Brita Sigourney mugshot" height="188" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/resize/news/campus-news/2018/feb/brita-sigourney-150-125x188.png" width="125" /><figcaption>Sigourney</figcaption></figure><p>She arrived at the Pyeongchang Games last weekend by way of Japan, where she and other members of the freeski team decided to get in some practice at the Aomori Spring Ski Resort.</p>
<p>She placed sixth in 2014’s Sochi Games, where freeskiing made its Olympic debut. Six years before that she was a first-year student at UC Davis, an Aggie like her parents, Thad and Julie, both ’76, and brother Brendan ’09. Brita would leave school early, in 2011, to join the newly established U.S. freeskiing team. <em><a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/news-briefs-aggie-freeskier-off-2nd-olympics">See last week’s Dateline article</a>, about the good season Sigourney is having. </em></p>
<blockquote>
<p>‘We opted out of the Olympic opening ceremony last night to ski pow and a private pipe at @aomorispringresort ... and to get in the right head space before we compete.’ — Brita Sigourney in Instagram from Japan en route to Pyeongchang</p>
</blockquote>
<h2><strong>Hats, balaclavas, zipper pullers and snaps </strong></h2>
<p>As Sigourney left school to pursue her dream, Cohen was starting her Aggie education that would lead her to The North Face. The company had designed the U.S. freeskiing team’s uniforms for the Sochi Games, and now was doing it again for Pyeongchang.</p>
<p>“When I started ... the bulk of the creative concepting for the uniform project and the initial sketches were complete,” Cohen said. “But, there is a lot that needs to happen between this stage and ultimate product creation. My job was to help with that process.</p>
<p>“I designed many of the uniform accessories such as hats and balaclavas (cloth headgear with limited openings, to protect the face from cold) as well as the uniform trims, including patches, zipper pullers, snaps and draw cords.”</p>
<div class="align-center">
<figure class="image"><img alt="3 freeskiers in North Face uniforms for Olympics" height="422" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/resize/news/campus-news/2018/feb/3-kneeling-925-804x422.png" width="804" /><figcaption>At the unveiling in New York: U.S. freeskiers, from left, Aaron Blunck, Maddie Bowman and Devin Logan.</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>Indeed, the uniforms have a lot of pieces — more than 60, so each athlete can customize his or her look. All of this lends to the uniforms’ reflecting “the unique, personal style that is endemic to the culture of freeskiing,” according to a <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/The-North-Face-Reveals-Official-U-S-Freeski-Team-Competition-Uniforms-For-Olympic-Winter-Games-PyeongChang-2018-1006321798">news release from The North Face</a>.</p>
<p><em>Freeskier</em> magazine reported on the uniforms’ unveiling last October: “Athletes will have the option of a slim-fitting, regular-fitting or loose-fitting pant. Shoes, puffy vests and other items can be donned off the mountain. Many items walk the line of ‘street to peak,’ including a new hoodie — which (The North Face) says is the seminal piece of the collection, an iconic piece of clothing that epitomizes the spirit and style of the freeskiing community both on and off the mountain — that is fully waterproof.”</p>
<blockquote>
<p>‘Those are actually really sick, good work The North Face!’ — Freeskier reader’s online comment</p>
</blockquote>
<p>“The uniforms are great,” Sigourney said. “I got to test them in Japan, and they are super waterproof and well fitting. Not too heavy, so we can still move, and lots of attention to detail.”</p>
<p>And, for each athlete, The North Face added a special touch: “The interior of the jackets has a print they made using old photos our families sent in of our childhoods and our beginnings in skiing,” Sigourney said. “They did a great job designing it all.”</p>
<figure class="image align-right"><img alt="Aliyah Cohen in snow at Yosemite" height="371" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/resize/news/campus-news/2018/feb/aliyah-cohen-snow-yosemite-400-186x371.png" width="186" /><figcaption>Cohen at Yosemite National Park, with Outdoor Adventures. (Courtesy Aliyah Cohen)</figcaption></figure><h2><strong>Every piece ‘intentional’</strong></h2>
<p>Said Cohen: “Every piece of this project was intentional, so there were a lot of small details to work through and of course many ‘plot twists’ to accommodate when things didn't go as planned.”</p>
<p>She is still with The North Face, in Alameda, working on the company’s Baselayer line of fitness wear.</p>
<p>As for her own adventures: “Before The North Face, I was primarily focused on water sports — rafting and kayaking, with a little backpacking and climbing here and there,” she said. “But since moving to the Bay Area, the rivers are not as accessible.”</p>
<p>So, “I’m a skier now!” — and a surfer and a mountain biker and a climber. “If it’s outside, I’ll enjoy it,” she said.</p>
<p><em><a href="https://twitter.com/UCDavisDateline">Follow Dateline UC Davis on Twitter.</a></em></p>Principles of Community Week 2018https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/principles-community-week-2018
UC Davis’ annual Principles of Community Week will be Feb. 26 to March 3, celebrating the nearly 30-year-old document that serve as an aspirational statement affirming our commitment to the highest standards of civility and decency towards all.https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/principles-community-week-2018Fri, 16 Feb 2018 12:39:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>UC Davis’ annual Principles of Community Week will be Feb. 26 to March 3, celebrating the nearly 30-year-old document that serve as an aspirational statement affirming our commitment to the highest standards of civility and decency towards all.</p>
<p>A prologue added to the <a href="http://occr.ucdavis.edu/poc/">Principles of Community</a> in a 25th anniversary revision (2014) states: “UC Davis is a diverse community comprised of individuals having many perspectives and identities. We come from a multitude of backgrounds and experiences, with distinct needs and goals. We recognize that to create an inclusive and intellectually vibrant community, we must understand and value both our individual differences and our common ground.”</p>
<h2>Principles of Community Week</h2>
<p>All events are free and open to all.</p>
<p><strong>Monday, Feb. 26 — Staff Networking Luncheon,</strong> hosted by the Staff Diversity Administrative Advisory Committee and the Office of Campus Community Relations. Come learn about UC Davis constituent groups and engage in a UC Davis strategic plan visioning session focused on strengthening equity, diversity and inclusion in our campus community. 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., multipurpose room, <a href="http://campusmap.ucdavis.edu/?b=223">Student Community Center</a>, Davis campus. Lunch provided. 70-guest maximum. Registration required by Friday, Feb. 16. <a href="mailto:crramirez@ucdavis.edu">Contact Cristina Ramirez by email.</a></p>
<p><strong>Tuesday, Feb. 27 — Multicultural Awareness Night,</strong> with musical entertainment, dance groups, spoken word and poetry. Also: Students enrolled in the campus Police Department’s Cadet Academy will talk about how they work in conjunction with officers to build community connections in furtherance of campus safety. Door prizes include bikes, bike lights, Aggie Cash gift cards and books from the Campus Community Book Projects. Coordinated by the Police Department and cadets, and student assistants to the chancellor. Sponsored by the Police Department and Office of Campus Community Relations. Cultural attire suggested. Refreshments provided. 6:30-9 p.m., multipurpose room, Student Community Center.</p>
<p><strong>Wednesday, Feb. 28 — Dialogue: Allyship Viewed Through the Lens of Immigrant and Underrepresented Communities.</strong> Share your own experience as a member of an immigrant or underrepresented community and hear the experiences of others. Explore the intersections of those experiences and discover how your story informs the way you wish to be supported. Sponsored by Sustained Dialogue at UC Davis, and the Office of Campus Dialogue and Deliberation. Refreshments provided. 6:30-8:30 p.m., multipurpose room, Student Community Center.</p>
<p><strong>Wednesday, Feb. 28 — Networking Luncheon:</strong> Join Chancellor Gary S. May, faculty and staff diversity committees, and UC Davis Health employee resource groups in this celebration of the Principles of Community. 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., first floor, <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Betty+Irene+Moore+Hall/@38.5523529,-121.452568,18z/data=!4m8!1m2!2m1!1sBetty+Irene+Moore+Hall+at+UC+Davis!3m4!1s0x0:0x5be7814fdb410f19!8m2!3d38.5523943!4d-121.4513683">Moore Hall</a>, Sacramento campus. Limited space; <a href="mailto:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/celebrating-the-principles-of-community-tickets-41980316256">RSVPs can be arranged online</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Friday-Saturday, March 2-3 — Latino Film Festival </strong>at the Student Community Center. The program comprises four films Friday (10 a.m.-9 p.m.) and five on Saturday (5-10:30 p.m.), with a question-and-answer session after each screening. Plus a musical performance each day by Dinorah (3:30-5 p.m. Friday and 5-6 p.m. Saturday). <em><a href="http://occr.ucdavis.edu/local_resources/docs/Program%20and%20Schedule%20UCD%20LATINO%20FILM%20FESTIVAL.pdf">See the complete schedule and details about each film.</a></em></p>
<p>The films:</p>
<ul><li><em>Bad Hair (Pelo malo)</em></li>
<li><em>The Companion (El acompañante)</em></li>
<li><em>The Empty Classroom (El aula vacia)</em></li>
<li><em>Everybody Leaves (Todos se van)</em></li>
<li><em>I Thought It Was a Party (Pensé que iba a haber fiesta)</em></li>
<li><em>Made in Bangkok</em></li>
<li><em>Tempest (Tempestad)</em></li>
<li><em>Translucent (Translucido)</em></li>
</ul><p><em>The Empty Classroom</em> is in Spanish and Portuguese and has subtitles in English; all the others are in Spanish and have subtitles in English.</p>
<p>The Office of Campus Community Relations and the UC Davis Health Office for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion are among the supporters of the Latino Film Festival.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/UCDavisDateline"><em>Follow </em>Dateline UC Davis<em> on Twitter.</em></a></p>Update on Additional Opportunities for Women in Athleticshttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/update-additional-opportunities-women-athletics
Update released today (Feb. 16) by the campus working group tasked with making a recommendation to the chancellor about providing additional opportunities for women in athletics at UC Davis:
•••https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/update-additional-opportunities-women-athleticsFri, 16 Feb 2018 10:53:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p><em>Update released today (Feb. 16) by the campus working group tasked with making a recommendation to the chancellor about providing additional opportunities for women in athletics at UC Davis:</em></p>
<p class="rtecenter">•••</p>
<p>We would like to provide an update about the ongoing process of selecting a new women’s varsity athletics team for UC Davis.</p>
<p>Our working group has reviewed each of the nominated teams and continues to analyze options using the four previously published criteria: number of participation opportunities, philanthropic support, competitive opportunity, and conference affiliation.</p>
<p>This update outlines a few of the most important considerations that have shaped our analysis so far. It also explains which teams we consider to be the most viable for addition based on our analysis to date. </p>
<h4><strong>A significant number of participation opportunities must be added</strong></h4>
<p>Projections of undergraduate student body demographics indicate that we will need to add as many as 40 to 45 new participation opportunities for female student athletes. We also feel it is important to retain the flexibility to increase this number in the future, given current enrollment trends.</p>
<p>Accordingly, we are considering teams that can support relatively large squad sizes to be most viable.</p>
<p>We are also evaluating the possibility of adding two smaller teams that, when participation opportunities are combined, may add up to a satisfactory number of female student-athletes at a lower net cost than one larger team.</p>
<h4><strong>NCAA-sponsored sports are strongly preferred</strong></h4>
<p>It is not a requirement that a sport be sponsored by the NCAA for a team to achieve varsity status or count for Title IX purposes. However, after researching potential playing schedules for the nominated teams, we found that sports sponsored by the NCAA were more able to support a competitive schedule at the varsity level.</p>
<p>Another benefit of adding a team that competes in an NCAA-sponsored sport is incremental revenue. As part of its annual distribution, the NCAA provides institutions with a modest amount of revenue for each NCAA-sponsored team that the institution carries (i.e., revenue is provided for each team exceeding the base number of 13 teams). The NCAA also provides modest funding to support student-athlete scholarships in NCAA-sponsored sports.</p>
<p>Accordingly, our working group decided that teams under further consideration must participate in sports that are sponsored by the NCAA or have attained <a href="http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/inclusion/emerging-sports-women">NCAA emerging sport status</a>.</p>
<h4><strong>A facility must be easily accessible to student athletes</strong></h4>
<p>Our analysis identified that access to a facility that is on campus or reasonably close to campus is a critical factor. Facility enhancements may be required as part of the launch of a new team and the viability of any facility enhancements will be evaluated during the analysis of startup costs.</p>
<h4>The 4 most viable options</h4>
<p>There are the four options that our working group considers to be most viable at this juncture. Two of them involve adding a single, large team, while the others involve adding two smaller teams. Here are the teams or team combinations, listed alphabetically:</p>
<ul><li>
<p><strong>Beach volleyball and rugby</strong></p>
<ul><li>
<p><strong>Roster sizes —</strong> Beach volleyball, 12-20; rugby, 25-35</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>Number of Division I programs —</strong><strong> </strong>Beach volleyball, 55; rugby, 8</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>Notes —</strong> Beach volleyball is sponsored by the Big West; UC Davis already excels in club rugby.</p>
</li>
</ul></li>
<li>
<p><strong>Equestrian</strong></p>
<ul><li>
<p><strong>Roster sizes —</strong> 25-55</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>Number of Division I programs —</strong> 17</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>Note — </strong>Equestrian is complementary to some notable academic strengths of UC Davis.</p>
</li>
</ul></li>
<li>
<p><strong>Fencing and rugby</strong></p>
<ul><li>
<p><strong>Roster sizes — </strong>Fencing, 14-22; rugby, 25-35</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>Number of Division I programs —</strong> Fencing, 25; rugby, 8</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>Note — </strong>UC Davis already excels in club rugby.</p>
</li>
</ul></li>
<li>
<p><strong>Rowing</strong></p>
<ul><li>
<p><strong>Roster sizes — </strong>55-70</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>Number of Division I programs —</strong> 88</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>Note — </strong>Women's rowing had varsity status at UC Davis as recently as 2010.</p>
</li>
</ul></li>
</ul><p><em>Sources: Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act reports and school websites</em></p>
<h4>Philanthropic support is an important factor for selection</h4>
<p>We are reviewing detailed information related to costs and donor support for the teams most strongly being considered. As we’ve stated from the outset, philanthropic support to defray startup costs and support ongoing annual expenses is an important factor for selection.</p>
<p>Our aspiration is to launch this new team in a manner that enables sustained competitiveness at the Division I level. Annual gift support is an important part of the athletics program. All varsity teams have expectations for private funding support. Accordingly, our expectation is that private gifts will contribute significantly to funding the operations of this new program.</p>
<p>Intercollegiate Athletics fundraising staff will be connecting with prospective donors and alumni to fully understand the degree of philanthropic support available to support each of the teams under strongest consideration. Part of this process involves inviting donors to make binding, five-year pledges to financially support their preferred teams; gifts would be paid only if donors’ preferred team or teams are selected.</p>
<p>A “contingent” pledge document is now available specifically for this purpose. It will be sent by email to all survey respondents who nominated either rugby, rowing, fencing, equestrian or beach volleyball, and also indicated interest in making gifts to support their nominated teams. The contingent pledge document is available to anyone who would like to make a gift and can be obtained by sending an email to Rob Norris (assistant athletics director for development) at <a href="mailto:athleticsdevelopment@ucdavis.edu">athleticsdevelopment@ucdavis.edu</a>. Interested donors should be sure to make their pledges by March 9, 2018.</p>
<h4><strong>Next steps</strong></h4>
<p>We will continue the process of analyzing startup costs, ongoing costs and philanthropic support for the teams that are in strongest consideration.</p>
<p>We anticipate making a recommendation to the chancellor about the team or teams to be added by the end of the winter quarter.</p>
<p><strong>Thank you, and Go Ags!</strong></p>
<p><strong>Josh Dalavai,</strong> president, ASUCD<br /><strong>Kelly Ratliff,</strong> vice chancellor, Finance, Operations and Administration<br /><strong>Kevin Blue,</strong> director of athletics<br /><strong>Scott Carrell,</strong> Faculty Athletics Representative<br /><strong>Sheila O’Rourke,</strong> campus counsel<br /><strong>Wendi Delmendo, </strong>Title IX coordinator and chief compliance officer</p>
<h2 class="heading--underline">Related coverage</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/genrel/112717aaa.html"><strong>UC Davis Athletics to Add 15th Women</strong></a><strong><a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/faq-adding-womens-varsity-team">’s</a></strong><a href="http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/genrel/112717aaa.html"><strong> Program</strong></a></p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/faq-adding-womens-varsity-team">Open Forum Jan. 9 on Adding a Women’s Varsity Team</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/faq-adding-womens-varsity-team#FrequentlyAskedQuestions"><strong>Frequently Asked Questions</strong></a></p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/UCDavisDateline"><em>Follow </em>Dateline UC Davis<em> on Twitter.</em></a></p>‘Cultivating an Atmosphere of Inclusiveness’https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/cultivating-atmosphere-inclusiveness
“At UC Davis, we acknowledge and honor exemplary faculty, staff, students and community members who help to cultivate an atmosphere of inclusiveness. They speak to the heart of what makes our campus and region a great place to work, teach, learn, play and live.”https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/cultivating-atmosphere-inclusivenessFri, 16 Feb 2018 08:19:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>“At UC Davis, we acknowledge and honor exemplary faculty, staff, students and community members who help to cultivate an atmosphere of inclusiveness. They speak to the heart of what makes our campus and region a great place to work, teach, learn, play and live.”</p>
<aside class="wysiwyg-feature-block width-half align-right"><h3 class="wysiwyg-feature-block__title">PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNITY WEEK</h3>
<div class="wysiwyg-feature-block__body">
<p>The <a href="http://occr.ucdavis.edu/poc/">UC Davis Principles of Community</a>, which are among the underpinnings of the Chancellor’s Achievement Awards for Diversity and Community, get some recognition of their own next week — during our annual Principles of Community Week, Feb. 26-March 3.</p>
<p>Networking luncheons will be held on the Davis and Sacramento campuses, while the Davis campus also will be the venue for Multicultural Awareness Night, the Latino Film Festival and Dialogue on Allyship.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/principles-community-week-2018"><strong><em>See the schedule.</em></strong></a></p>
</div>
</aside><p>This is part of what Gary S. May had to say Feb. 6 in presenting the 2018 Chancellor’s Achievement Awards for Diversity and Community to eight individuals — in the categories of Academic Senate, Academic Federation, undergraduate, graduate student, postdoctoral, staff, special recognition and community — and three departments.</p>
<p>The awards ceremony took place in the early evening at the Chancellor’s Residence. “This event is a perfect way to cap my workday,” May said. “The spirit of these awards speaks to me deeply on a personal and professional level” — as a college student who remembers well the feeling of being the only person of color in the lecture halls and laboratories, and as an engineering professor and dean working hard to change that, especially for students from ethnic groups that are underrepresented in the STEM fields.</p>
<p>“UC Davis’ strong commitment to diversity is one of the key reasons I wanted to come here,” May said. “I wanted to be part of a community that deliberately recruits, retains, embraces and celebrates people with backgrounds, gender identities and skill sets that are underrepresented in higher education. I wanted to be part of a community that honors the promoters of socio-economic mobility who we are celebrating today.”</p>
<p>Here are the 2018 award recipients, with comments about them condensed from nomination forms and remarks from the awards ceremony, delivered by Rahim Reed, associate executive vice chancellor, Office of Campus Community Relations. <em><a href="http://occr.ucdavis.edu/caadc/caadc/index.html">You can read more about the awardees here.</a></em></p>
<h2><strong>Individual award recipients</strong></h2>
<h5><strong>Academic Senate: Natalia Deeb-Sossa</strong></h5>
<p><img alt="Natalia Deeb-Sossa mugshot" class="align-left" height="135" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/news/campus-news/2018/feb/deeb-sossa-img_7629b.png" width="135" />Associate professor of Chicano/a studies, recognized for her socially and politically engaged scholarship, community outreach and contributions to marginalized communities. For example, she founded the Knights Landing Bridge Program, now known as the UC Davis Chicana/o Bridge Program to reflect that UC Davis students provide “bridge” tutoring not only in Knights Landing but in other rural communities, as well. “As a professor, she is highly regarded by her students who often highlight her willingness to support them beyond traditional teaching duties.”</p>
<p><strong>Academic Federation: </strong><strong>Jorge Garcia</strong></p>
<p><img alt="Jorge Garcia mugshot" class="align-left" height="135" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/news/campus-news/2018/feb/garcia-img_7630b.png" width="135" />Clinical professor of internal medicine; and interim associate director, Office of Student and Resident Diversity. “His efforts have helped to ensure that UC Davis welcomes diversity with open arms. ... Although he is an accomplished physician he has never forgotten the awkwardness and isolation he felt in embarking on a career in medicine, and then in academic medicine. This is why Dr. Garcia relishes his position as a role model and inspirational coach for underrepresented students in medicine.”</p>
<p><strong>Undergraduate: </strong><strong>Samantha Chiang</strong></p>
<p><img alt="Samantha Chiang mugshot" class="align-left" height="135" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/news/campus-news/2018/feb/chiang-img_7633b.png" width="135" />She is a fourth-year, English major and Asian American studies minor, and a former ASUCD senator (2016-17). “Her passion for assisting marginalized and underrepresented communities is a reflection of her deep desire to create a more equitable and inclusive campus environment.” She is the founding director of the UC Davis Mental Health Initiative, which runs the annual mental health conference and awareness month, and has also worked in the areas of disability rights and cultural competency training. She worked with Student Health and Counseling Services to create translated insurance documents in Mandarin and Spanish.</p>
<p><strong>Graduate Student: Hung Doan</strong></p>
<p><img alt="Hung Doan mugshot" class="align-left" height="135" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/news/campus-news/2018/feb/doan-img_7637b.png" width="135" />This plant pathology student believes that service is at the heart of scholarship. He mentors undergraduates from underrepresented groups, and he works to alleviate food insecurity within the UC Davis student community (especially among underrepresented students) and in the surrounding community. Since 2011, he has worked as coordinator and head cook for the student-run soup kitchen HELP, which stands for Help and Education Leading to the Prevention of Poverty.</p>
<p><strong>Postdoctoral: Lauren Libero</strong></p>
<p><img alt="Lauren Libero mugshot" class="align-left" height="135" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/news/campus-news/2018/feb/libero-img_7639b.png" width="135" />She studies at the MIND Institute, where she is the volunteer co-leader of a social skills program for autistic adults and family members, and a support group leader. One of those groups, for family members of people on the autism spectrum, was on the verge of shutting down, due to a staff retirement, until Ribero advocated to keep it going with her as the lead staff member. She started a support group for women on the autism spectrum, and mentors children and young adults in theater and improvisation to enhance their communication skills.</p>
<p><strong>Staff Award: Lina Mendez</strong></p>
<p><img alt="Lina Mendez mugshot" class="align-left" height="135" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/news/campus-news/2018/feb/mendez-img_7643b.png" width="135" />Associate director, Center for Chicanx and Latinx Academic Student Success. “Through her research as well as her lived experiences and journey in support of the Chicanx and Latinx student communities, she has focused on channeling their potential in the pursuit of educational excellence, while also working to shape the institutions that serve them” — including the Center for Educational Effectiveness (as a graduate student) and the UC Davis Health Center for Reducing Health Disparities (as a post-doc).</p>
<p><strong>Special Recognition: Barbara Ashby</strong></p>
<p><img alt="Barbara Ashby mugshot" class="align-left" height="135" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/news/campus-news/2018/feb/ashby-img_7646b.png" width="135" />The manager of WorkLife and Wellness has devoted her career to program and policy development in support of women, children and families. She secured grants and other funding to assist student parents with child care expenses, and established three child care facilities serving more than 300 children. She founded the Breastfeeding Support Program, and she also was instrumental in workplace flexibility policy. More recently she collaborated with the Women’s Resources and Research Center to establish the Caregiver Support Group and Education Program.</p>
<p><strong>Community Achievement: Cassandra Jennings</strong></p>
<p><img alt="Cassandra Jennings mugshot" class="align-left" height="135" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/news/campus-news/2018/feb/jennings-img_7648b.png" width="135" />President and chief executive officer, Greater Sacramento Urban League, who formerly worked in Sacramento city government and at the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, including six years as deputy executive director. In her three years in the Urban League’s top leadership post, she has assisted UC Davis’ outreach efforts in underserved communities in Sacramento through Sacramento Area Youth Speaks, or SAYS, a UC Davis-run program that is now co-located at Urban League headquarters in Del Paso Heights.</p>
<h2><strong>Honorary awards </strong></h2>
<p>The campus introduced this category last year to recognize departments and divisions for taking the initiative to include training in diversity and inclusion as part of organizational and staff development.</p>
<p>“These efforts are in support of the UC Davis Diversity and Inclusion Initiative, and it is our hope that the campus community will be inspired by these organizations’ proactive measures in operationalizing our Principles of Community, and in striving towards a more diverse and inclusive UC Davis,” Reed said.</p>
<p><strong>The newest honorees:</strong></p>
<div class="align-center">
<figure class="image"><img alt="UC Davis Health Information Management Division, group photo" height="366" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/resize/news/campus-news/2018/feb/health-it-wo-925-660x366.png" width="660" /><figcaption><strong>Health Information Management Division:</strong> From left, Stefan Toma, project manager, information technology (IT) departmental services group; Katie Holland, associate business partner, IT human resources (Holland recently joined UC Davis Health human resources, as a manager); Myrene Abot, supervisor, IT human resources; Richard Falcon, supervisor, IT client engineering; Charron Andrus, technical project manager, IT enterprise applications; and Daniel Marenco, supervisor, IT interface operations. Not pictured: John Cook, interim chief information officer.</figcaption></figure></div>
<p><a href="https://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/him/"><strong>UC Davis Health Information Management Division</strong></a><strong> — </strong>It has worked with UC Davis Health’s Office for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion the last two years to offer diversity and inclusion training to 70 IT supervisors. Management training includes “The Impact of Unconscious Bias on Workplace Teams” and “Understanding Generational Differences” to help improve communication, teamwork and employee engagement. Individual teams are encouraged to arrange their own trainings, say, with speakers from the Harassment and Discrimination Assistance and Prevention Program, or HDAPP. The Office for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion will host four Diversity and Inclusion Dialogues for the IT division to assist in building a culture of lifelong learning in diversity and inclusion.</p>
<figure class="image align-left"><img alt="Eloy Gutierrez-CCC mugshot" height="135" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/news/campus-news/2018/feb/som-post-bacc-img_7658b.png" width="135" /><figcaption>Gutierrez-Montoya</figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/diversity/postbac.html"><strong>School of Medicine Postbaccalaureate Program</strong></a><strong> — </strong>This is a one-year program designed to help educationally and/or socio-economically disadvantaged students become more competitive applicants to medical school. The program partners with the Office of Campus Community Relations for sessions on unpacking oppression, microaggressions and stereotype threat, and weaves these topics into conversations about understanding diversity, and to further develop students’ critical thinking skills. The Postbaccalaureate Program participates in the Campus Community Book Project to further inform students’ understanding of equity issues and how they translate to the health care fields. Elio A. Gutierrez, program coordinator, accepted the award, which also recognized Jose A. Morfin of the Department of Nephrology.</p>
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<figure class="image"><img alt="Student Housing and Dining Services, group photo" height="367" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/resize/news/campus-news/2018/feb/housing-dining-w-925-660x367.png" width="660" /><figcaption><strong>Student Housing and Dining Services:</strong> From left, Rahim Reed, associate executive vice chancellor, Office of Campus Community Relations; Corey Pope, assistant director; Catrina Wagner, associate director; Duane Lindsay, executive project analyst; Connie Quintero, training coordinator; Emily Galindo, associate vice chancellor, auxiliary services; and Gary S. May, chancellor.</figcaption></figure></div>
<p><a href="http://housing.ucdavis.edu/"><strong>Student Housing and Dining Services</strong></a><strong> — </strong>All leads and managers undergo professional development training on “Understanding Diversity,” “Anti-Bullying,” Cross-Cultural Communication” and “Conflict Management,” all meant to encourage staff to live and practice the Principles of Community at work, among colleagues, and with the campus community members they serve. Student Housing and Dining Services also ensures that their student staff, especially those who work in advising capacities, are exposed to the Campus Community Book Project, integrating the chosen book as part of student staff training.</p>
<p><em>Photos by Linda Mijangos/Office of Campus Community Relations</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://twitter.com/UCDavisDateline">Follow </a></em><a href="https://twitter.com/UCDavisDateline">Dateline UC Davis</a><em><a href="https://twitter.com/UCDavisDateline"> on Twitter.</a></em></p>NEWS BRIEFS: More Bike Parking Coming to Campus Corehttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/news-briefs-more-bike-parking-coming-campus-core
Construction is scheduled to start next week on two new bike parking lots with a total of 500 spaces at Everson and Rock halls.https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/news-briefs-more-bike-parking-coming-campus-coreThu, 15 Feb 2018 16:22:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>Construction is scheduled to start next week on two new bike parking lots with a total of 500 spaces at Everson and Rock halls.</p>
<p>At first, the new lots in the campus core will serve as an alternative to the temporary loss of spaces due to building construction in the area: Walker Hall (renewal and seismic corrections), and Chemistry and Chem Annex (fire suppression and seismic corrections).</p>
<p>Note, however, that the new lots on the west side of Rock Hall and at the northeast corner of Everson will be permanent.</p>
<p>And, when construction is completed, parking will be restored on the east side of Rock Hall and on the south side of Walker — resulting in a net increase of 600 parking spaces, which will be very welcome considering that threw new classrooms are going into the back of Walker Hall.</p>
<h2><strong>‘Books,’ readers sought for Human Library</strong></h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.library.ucdavis.edu/">UC Davis Library </a>is seeking volunteers for its new Human Library, coming this spring as part of a worldwide movement for social change.</p>
<p><img alt=" Flag and people walking in a line" class="align-right" height="149" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/resize/upload/users/human-library-logo-925-404x149.png" width="404" />Through this program, which is modeled after the Copenhagen-based <a href="http://humanlibrary.org/">Human Library Organization</a>, people are the “books” who share their personal stories to build a positive framework for conversations that can challenge stereotypes and prejudices through dialogue.</p>
<p>The UC Davis Human Library needs “books” and readers. Anyone associated with the UC Davis community is invited to apply — this includes students (undergraduate, graduate, professional, medical, post-doc, etc.), staff, faculty and alumni.</p>
<p>“Books” should represent groups that have been exposed to stigmas, stereotypes or prejudices.</p>
<p>If you are interested in participating or want to nominate a member of the UC Davis community, send an email to <a href="mailto:ucdhumanlibrary@ucdavis.edu">ucdhumanlibrary@ucdavis.edu</a><strong>.</strong> An date for the event will be set once volunteers are secured.</p>
<p>The Human Library at UC Davis has the support of a UC Davis Diversity and Inclusion Innovation Grant.</p>
<p><em><a href="http://library.ucdavis.edu/humanlibrary">Read more. </a></em></p>
<h2><strong>Recruitment for Administrative Advisory Committees</strong></h2>
<p>The UC Davis administration is seeking applications for membership on Administrative Advisory Committees for 2018-19. The committees address topics such as arts, child and family care, diversity, student services, and research, and provide an opportunity for all constituencies — Academic Senate and Academic Federation members, staff, graduate students and undergraduate students—to participate in governance of the campus.</p>
<p>“As a member of an Administrative Advisory Committee, you can ensure that your constituency's perspectives are well represented in the committee's recommendations to the administration,” Ralph J. Hexter, provost and executive vice chancellor, said in an email to the campus community.</p>
<p>“You can also help representatives from other constituencies understand your interests and concerns and, in turn, learn more about their views of campus issues.”</p>
<p>The <a href="mailto:http://aac.ucdavis.edu/">Administrative Advisory Committees website</a> inclues a list of the committees with brief descriptions of their activities, as well as the application form. The application <a id="WoodlandProfessors" name="WoodlandProfessors"></a>deadline is April 9.</p>
<h2><strong>Woodland Professors and Ph.D.s social hour</strong></h2>
<p>Liza Grandia, associate professor in the Department of Native American Studies, wants to meet her faculty colleagues who, like her, call Woodland home. So she has organized a monthly social, the first of which is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. this Friday (Feb. 23) at the Uvaggio wine bar, 703 Main St.</p>
<figure class="image align-left"><img alt="Liza Grandia mugshot" height="225" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/upload/users/liza-grandia-150.png" width="150" /><figcaption>Grande</figcaption></figure><p>“Lots of people have responded enthusiastically to the idea,” said Grandia, who joined UC Davis in 2012.</p>
<p>She moved here from Massachusetts and had a short timeline to find a house. “Davis folks actively discouraged me from even looking at Woodland,” she said. “As an anthropologist, it struck me as strange. So I decided to drive up in the rental car to see for myself.</p>
<p>“I parked on First Street in the heart of the historic district and walked up to the Carnegie library. The roses were in bloom and neighbors were talking on the street. Online I saw that Woodland had an amazing community theatre program at the Opera House, and the community had two (now three) dual immersion schools.”</p>
<p>She fell in love with the city and a house with soaring ceilings, wood floors, space for gardening, kitchen with butler’s pantry, a claw-foot tub, “all at a price I could afford on a humanities professor salary.”</p>
<p>But, she added, “With the long hours of being a single-mothering professor, I haven’t had an opportunity to meet many people. So the idea of the happy hour began.”</p>
<p>She calls it Woodland Professors and Ph.D.s, and it is scheduled to meet the last Friday of every month. <em><a href="mailto:emgrandia@ucdavis.edu">For more information, contact Grandia by email.</a></em></p>
<h2><strong>Colombian Consulate services, on campus Feb. 24</strong></h2>
<p>A “mobile consulate” is coming to UC Davis this Saturday (Feb. 24) — the Colombian Consulate from San Francisco. It is partnering with UC Davis Extension’s Center for International Education to provide consulate services such as renewing passports, registering for Colombian identification cards and registering to vote.</p>
<p>The mobile consulate will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in 1211-1215 <a href="http://campusmap.ucdavis.edu/?b=259">International Center</a>.</p>
<p>“This unique event supports our population of Colombian students and faculty (and other Colombian nationals in our area) by providing them with a convenient opportunity to access critical consulate services,” a UC Davis Extension spokesman said.</p>
<h2><strong>Picture this! Improved eLearning Studio </strong></h2>
<p>The eLearning Studio, a high-quality, lower-cost recording center that faculty use to make instructional videos, has been refreshed and simplified — and is ready for wider use.</p>
<p>Faculty have typically used the studio to narrate slides, “but people are starting to be more creative with it,” said Mark Wilson, instructional designer, by creating scripted segments instead of simply recording standard lectures. Wilson and other academic technology specialists can assist with ideas and advice about how to optimize the use of video.</p>
<p>The room (50 Hutchison Hall) has features you’d expect — a wireless microphone, good lighting and “learning glass” that functions as a sort of transparent whiteboard between the speaker and the lens.</p>
<p><em><a href="https://iet.ucdavis.edu/content/picture-improved-elearning-studio-ready-faculty-hutchison">Read more in TechNews.</a></em></p>
<h2><strong>Fall housing: Honda Smart Home</strong></h2>
<p>Even if you’re not looking for a new place to live, you might want to consider this — applying to be the next occupant(s) of the <a href="http://www.hondasmarthome.com/">Honda Smart Home</a>, a zero-net-energy house in UC Davis West Village.</p>
<p>The application period is open for 2018-19. This unique opportunity is open to faculty, staff or graduate students.</p>
<p>In addition to showcasing Honda’s vision for sustainable, zero-carbon living and personal mobility, the home functions as a living laboratory where the company, along with researchers from UC Davis and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. evaluate new technologies and business opportunities at the intersection of housing, transportation, energy and the environment.</p>
<p><a href="https://energy.ucdavis.edu/live-zero-energy-house-fall/">More information is available online.</a> The page includes links to the occupancy agreement and interest form; for full consideration, prospective occupants should complete the form as soon as possible but no later than 5 p.m. March 16. (Sorry, feline and canine occupants are not being considered this time.)</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/UCDavisDateline"><em>Follow </em>Dateline UC Davis<em> on Twitter.</em></a></p>Consumer, Industrial Products Overtake Transportation as Source of Urban Air Pollutionhttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/consumer-industrial-products-overtake-transportation-source-urban-air-pollution
Consumer products such as shampoo, cleaning products and paint now contribute as much to urban air pollution as tailpipe emissions from vehicles, according to a new study led by NOAA and including researchers at the University of Cahttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/consumer-industrial-products-overtake-transportation-source-urban-air-pollutionThu, 15 Feb 2018 16:17:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>Consumer products such as shampoo, cleaning products and paint now contribute as much to urban air pollution as tailpipe emissions from vehicles, according to <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6377/760">a new study</a> led by NOAA and including researchers at the University of California, Davis. The results are published Feb. 16 in the journal <em>Science</em>.</p>
<p>“What’s exciting about this work is that it shows that everyday consumer choices can have an impact on air quality in the U.S.,” said Christopher Cappa, professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Davis and a co-author on the paper.</p>
<p>People use a lot more fuel than they do petroleum-based compounds in chemical products—about 15 times more by weight, according to the new assessment. Even so, lotions, paints and other products contribute about as much to air pollution as does the transportation sector. In the case of one type of pollution—tiny particles that can damage people’s lungs—particle-forming emissions from chemical products are about twice as high as those from the transportation sector, the team found.</p>
<p> “As transportation gets cleaner, those other sources become more and more important,” said team leader Brian McDonald, a scientist in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, working in NOAA’s Chemical Sciences Division.</p>
<p>The scientists focused on volatile organic compounds or VOCs that can waft into the atmosphere and react to produce either ozone or particulate matter—both of which are regulated in the United States and many other countries because of health impacts, including lung damage.</p>
<h3>Vehicle emissions cut by regulation, technology</h3>
<p>Over the past few decades, regulators and car manufacturers have made pollution-limiting changes to engines, fuels and gas pumps. McDonald and his colleagues reassessed air pollution sources by sorting through recent chemical production statistics compiled by industries and regulatory agencies, by making detailed atmospheric chemistry measurements in Los Angeles air, and by evaluating indoor air quality measurements made by others.</p>
<p>The scientists concluded that in the U.S., the amount of VOCs emitted by consumer and industrial products is actually two or three times greater than estimated by current air pollution inventories, which also overestimate vehicular sources. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that about 75 percent of VOC emissions (by weight) come from vehicular sources, and about 25 percent from chemical products. The new study, with its detailed assessment of up-to-date chemical use statistics and previously unavailable atmospheric data, puts the split closer to 50-50.</p>
<p>The disproportionate air quality impact of chemical product emissions is partly because of a fundamental difference between those products and fuels.</p>
<p>“Gasoline is stored in closed, hopefully airtight, containers and the VOCs in gasoline are burned for energy,” said NOAA atmospheric scientist Jessica Gilman. “But volatile chemical products used in common solvents and personal care products are literally designed to evaporate. You wear perfume or use scented products so that you or your neighbor can enjoy the aroma. You don't do this with gasoline,” Gilman said.</p>
<h3>Closing gap between models and measurements</h3>
<p>Cappa said that there has been a persistent gap between levels of fine particles measured in urban air and predictions from models. The new work has the potential to close this gap, he said. </p>
<p>The team found that they simply could not reproduce the levels of particles or ozone they measured in the Los Angeles area without including emissions from volatile chemical products. They also determined that people are exposed to very high concentrations of volatile compounds indoors.</p>
<p>Additional authors on the study were: Joost A. de Gouw, Stuart A. McKeen, Yu Yan Cui, Si-Wan Kim, CIRES and NOAA Chemical Sciences Division; Gregory J. Frost, James M. Roberts, Thomas B. Ryerson, and Michael Trainer, NOAA Chemical Sciences Division; Shantanu H. Jathar, Colorado State University and UC Davis; Ali Akherati, Colorado State University; Jose L. Jimenez, CIRES and CU Boulder; Julia Lee-Taylor, CIRES and National Center for Atmospheric Research; Patrick L. Hayes, Universite of Montreal; Drew R. Gentner, Yale University; Gabriel Isaacman, NCAR; VanWertz, Virginia Tech; Allen H. Goldstein and Robert A. Harley, UC Berkeley.</p>
<p>This research was supported by NOAA, the CIRES Visiting Fellowship Program, Aerodyne Research, Inc., the National Science Foundation and the Sloan Foundation. CIRES is a partnership of NOAA and the University of Colorado Boulder.</p>
<h3>Video: Everyday chemicals and air pollution</h3>
<p> </p>
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<p> </p>UC Davis Symposium Explores Future of Teahttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/uc-davis-symposium-explores-future-tea-0
https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/uc-davis-symposium-explores-future-tea-0Thu, 15 Feb 2018 12:29:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<h2> </h2>
<p>University of California, Davis, will hold its third annual symposium bringing industry experts, farmers and scholars together to talk about the the growing, distribution and culture of tea throughout the world. Topics including “Yes we CAn! Tea Farming in California,” “From Soil to Cup,” and “Sustaining Societies and Preserving Lost Cultures.” Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world other than water. About four in five of all people worldwide drink tea, according to UC Davis tea scholars. </p>
<p>The event is free and open to the public.</p>
<h2>WHEN</h2>
<p>Thursday, Feb. 22 – Friday, Feb. 23, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.</p>
<h2>WHERE</h2>
<p>The symposium will be held at the <a href="https://cru.ucdavis.edu/content/339-location-amp-contact.htm">UC Davis Conference Center Ballroom</a>.</p>
<h2>WHO</h2>
<p>International tea consultant Nigel Melican, of England-based Teacraft Ltd., will deliver the keynote address Feb. 22 at 3:30 p.m. UC Davis faculty and other experts will speak as well. </p>
<h2>BACKGROUND</h2>
<p>This is the third annual symposium held by the Global Tea Institute for the Study of Tea Culture and Science. The agenda, including map and directions, is <strong><a href="https://globaltea.ucdavis.edu/events/">here</a>.</strong></p>
<p>More information on the event and its history are <a href="https://ls.ucdavis.edu/news-events/harcs-news/global-tea-symposium-18.html"><strong>here</strong></a>.</p>NEWS BRIEFS: Campus to Host 3rd Mandela Institutehttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/news-briefs-campus-host-3rd-mandela-institute
UC Davis will host its third institute for the Mandela Washington Fellowship, the flagship of the U.S. government’s Young African Leaders Initiative.https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/news-briefs-campus-host-3rd-mandela-instituteTue, 13 Feb 2018 22:02:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>UC Davis will host its third institute for the Mandela Washington Fellowship, the flagship of the U.S. government’s Young African Leaders Initiative.</p>
<p>The U.S. State Department and IREX, the international nonprofit organization that administers the fellowship program, <a href="https://www.irex.org/news/us-higher-education-institutions-selected-host-mandela-washington-fellows">announced 27 colleges and universities</a> as institute hosts for 2018, saying they will welcome a total of about 700 fellows from sub-Saharan Africa for six-week summer programs in business and entrepreneurship, civic leadership, and public management.</p>
<p>In 2016, UC Davis pioneered the fellowship’s first energy-themed institute and held the second one last year. This year UC Davis will host about two dozen fellows for “Managing Globalization: Public Policy and Development in the 21st Century.”</p>
<p>Organized by <a href="https://globalaffairs.ucdavis.edu/">Global Affairs</a>, the institute will address the public management process; the evaluation of public regulations, policies and programs; and the planning and financing of public services and infrastructure. It will be held June 20 through July 29.</p>
<p>Peter Hartsough, an assistant project scientist in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, is academic director of the institute; Jennie Konsella-Norene, assistant director of sponsored programs and special projects in Global Affairs, is its administrative director.</p>
<h2>International Connections Reception: March 2</h2>
<p>Global Affairs is hosting its annual International Connections Reception, Friday, March 2, offering the opportunity to network with faculty, staff and scholars who are internationally engaged, and make connections with other collaborators who are working in similar world regions.</p>
<p>The reception also serves as the venue for announcement of the Chancellor’s Awards for International Engagement, Seed Grants for International Activities, Grants for Regional Faculty Groups and Global Affairs Faculty Ambassadors.</p>
<p>The reception will be from 4 to 6 p.m. in the multipurpose room at the International Center. <em><a href="https://ucdavis.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3wqRcLc1XFOKdeZ">Please register here.</a></em></p>
<p>Global Affairs also asks for your help in identifying where UC Davis faculty, staff and students are engaged — and you can so by completing or updating your profile in the <a href="http://globalaffairs.ucdavis.edu/internationalfaculty/index.cfm">UC Davis International Linkages Database.</a></p>
<p><img alt="Grad Slam finalists, 10 mugshots" height="396" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/news/campus-news/2018/feb/grad_slam_2018-finalistsc-925.png" width="925" /></p>
<h2><strong>Here are your campus Grad Slam </strong><strong>finalists</strong></h2>
<p>They are pictured above, from left:</p>
<p><strong>Top row —</strong> Olumayowa Adegboyega, Anthropology; Hanjiro Ambrose, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Emery Anderson-Merritt, Geology; Riley Hughes, Nutritional Biology; and Divya Kernik, Biomedical Engineering.</p>
<p><strong>Bottom row —</strong> Maci Mueller, Animal Biology; Augustina Mushale, Nursing Science and Health Care Leadersh, Stela Petkova, Neuroscience, Rachel Wigginton, Ecology; and Tooka Zokaie, Public Health.</p>
<p>Eighty students from across the university’s 99 graduate programs submitted proposals for this year’s competition. Grad Slam calls on master’s and doctoral students to explain their research in a clear, direct and interesting manner — in three minutes or less</p>
<p>The qualifying round was held last Thursday (Feb. 8). Judging panels of faculty and staff volunteers settled on the top 10 to go to the final, scheduled from noon to 3 p.m. Thursday, April 5, in Ballrooms A and B at the Activities and Recreation Center. Everyone is welcome to this free event. Please RSVP here.</p>
<p>The winner of that campus final will advance to the <a href="https://gradslam.universityofcalifornia.edu/">UC Grad Slam</a>, to be held Thursday, May 3.</p>
<h2><strong>Mental health webinar promotes stigma-free UC</strong></h2>
<figure class="image align-right"><img alt="Stephen Hinshaw mugshot" height="226" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/news/campus-news/2018/feb/hinshaw-150.png" width="150" /><figcaption>Hinshaw</figcaption></figure><p>All faculty and staff in the UC system are invited to attend a webinar from 1 to 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, about ending stigma surrounding mental illness — stigma that can prevent people from seeking help. With this program, UC Human Resources launches an effort to raise awareness about mental health issues and reduce barriers to treatment.</p>
<p>Stephen Hinshaw, professor of psychology, UC Berkeley, and professor of psychiatry, UCSF, will present the lead-off webinar, speaking on the social and personal costs of the stigma surrounding mental illness — especially what can be done to open dialogue and ensure access to needed treatments. He will share insights gathered both through his distinguished research career and his family history, explored in his 2017 book, <em>Another Kind of Madness: A Journey through the Stigma and Hope of Mental Illness</em>.</p>
<p><a href="https://ucop.zoom.us/j/941574800">Here’s the link to participate online.</a> Or, you can attend by phone: Call 408-638-0968 (Meeting ID 941 574 800). A recording will be available on the <a href="http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/working-at-uc/livingwell/index.html">UC Living Well website</a> as soon as possible after the event.</p>
<p><em>More information about UC’s behavioral health benefits, including free services through faculty and staff assistance programs, is available </em><a href="http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/health-plans/behavioral-health/index.html"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<h2><strong>Police Accountability Board winter quarter meetings</strong></h2>
<p>The <a href="http://pab.ucdavis.edu/">UC Davis Police Accountability Board (PAB)</a> has scheduled its winter quarter meetings for Wednesday, Feb. 21, on the Davis and Sacramento campuses. The meetings will be held simultaneously, noon to 1 p.m. — with some members of the board attending the Davis meeting, and others attending the Sacramento meeting. Here are the locations:</p>
<ul><li><strong>Davis campus —</strong> Garrison Room, <a href="http://campusmap.ucdavis.edu/?b=104" target="_blank">Memorial Union</a></li>
<li><strong>Sacramento campus —</strong> 3103 <a href="http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/common/includes/shared/map/MAP-REVISIONS-STRUCTURE3-7.2012/Sac_campus_overview_7.2012.pdf" target="_blank">Education Building</a></li>
</ul><p>The board invites the public to attend to learn more about the board’s work, how to file a complaint, and to raise any issues or concerns.</p>
<h2><strong>Napolitano: Consider donations to cancer research</strong></h2>
<p><em>UC President Janet Napolitano is asking the UC community to consider donations via their state income tax returns to a pair of cancer programs that the university administers on behalf of the state of California.</em> “All donations, no matter the size, make a difference, and 95 percent of contributions go directly to research and education efforts,” Napolitano said in a <a href="http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/2018/02/president-napolitano-invites-you-to-support-uc-cancer-research.html">Feb. 12 letter</a>.</p>
<p>Forms 540 and 540 2EZ each include a page where you may designate voluntary contributions to a number of funds, including:</p>
<ul><li><strong>Line 405 —</strong> <a href="http://www.cabreastcancer.org/taxcheckoff/">California Breast Cancer Research Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund</a></li>
<li><strong>Line 413 —</strong> <a href="http://ucop.edu/research-initiatives/programs/crcc/ccrvtc.html">California Cancer Research Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund</a></li>
</ul><p><em><a href="https://twitter.com/UCDavisDateline">Follow Dateline UC Davis on Twitter.</a></em></p>THE DOWNLOAD: Love the Sea, Love the View, Love the Bugshttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/download-love-sea-love-view-love-bugs
Valentine's Day doesn't just have to be about chocolate — there's room for science, too. Staff members at the Bodega Marine Laboratory are spreading awareness of endangered white abalone (and their work to save them!) with a series of pun-filled Valentine's Day images.https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/download-love-sea-love-view-love-bugsTue, 13 Feb 2018 17:18:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>Valentine's Day doesn't just have to be about chocolate — there's room for science, too. Staff members at the Bodega Marine Laboratory are spreading awareness of endangered white abalone (and their work to save them!) with a series of pun-filled Valentine's Day images.</p>
<p><em><a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteAbalone/status/963147155987820545">See the cards on Twitter</a>.</em></p>
<h2>Take a virtual walk through campus</h2>
<figure class="image"><img alt="Google Streetview image inside the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art." height="451" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/resize/news/campus-news/2018/feb/shrem-street-view-860x451.jpg" width="860" /><figcaption>A Google Streetview image captured at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art in November 2016.</figcaption></figure><p>Want to revisit the <a href="http://manettishremmuseum.ucdavis.edu/visit/oow.html">inaugural exhibit at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art</a>? Know someone on the other side of the globe who wants to take a walk through the arboretum? Google has updated its interactive Street View images of several parts of campus: <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/KjgKKieTNWz">inside the art museum and</a> <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/cCeAQjUZ9oq">inside King Hall</a>, <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/qKT5ZBU7hN42">parts of the arboretum</a>, <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/8maXB67cYyz">the Tercero Residence Halls area</a>, and more.</p>
<p>The images were captured in November 2016 but were only recently made available.</p>
<h2>Researching Ant-Man?</h2>
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<figure class="image"><img alt="Helene Dillard and Gary May look at butterflies." height="508" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/resize/news/campus-news/2018/feb/gary-may-bohart-museum-860x508.jpg" width="860" /><figcaption>Professor Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, shows butterflies to Helene Dillard, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and Chancellor Gary S. May. (Gregory Urquiaga/UC Davis)</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>Chancellor Gary S. May’s ongoing tour of the campus brought him last week to see where we keep the bugs! He joined Helene Dillard, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, on a visit to the Bohart Museum of Entomology, which houses nearly 8 million specimens. <em><a href="http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=26321">Story and more photos by Kathy Keatley Garvey.</a></em></p>
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<div class="media-link__figure"><img alt="Chancellors at the state Capitol" height="135" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/news/campus-news/2018/feb/chancellors-state-capitol.jpg" width="135" /></div>
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<h3 class="media-link__title">Twitter: Chancellors at the Capitol</h3>
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<p><em>Chancellor Gary S. May:</em> Commemorated the @UofCalifornia's 150th anniversary at the Capitol with all 10 UC Chancellors. Go Aggies!</p>
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<p><a href="https://twitter.com/ucdavisdateline"><em>Follow</em> Dateline UC Davis <em>on Twitter</em></a>.</p>UC Davis Releases 2 Audit Reportshttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/uc-davis-releases-2-audit-reports
UC Davis is releasing two audit reports on Student Fees and Counseling Services. The review on Student Fees was concluded in September 2017. The audit on Counseling Services was completed in December 2017.https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/uc-davis-releases-2-audit-reportsTue, 13 Feb 2018 16:52:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>UC Davis is releasing two audit reports on Student Fees and Counseling Services. The review on Student Fees was concluded in September 2017. The audit on Counseling Services was completed in December 2017.</p>
<h2>Student Fee Review</h2>
<h5>Audit and Management Advisory Services Project 17-54</h5>
<p>The audit assessed whether certain student fees have been governed in accordance with applicable policies, guidelines and referenda language. The audit focused on the four largest fees: Student Services Fee, Campus Expansion Initiative, Facilities and Campus Enhancements, and Student Activities and Services Initiative. The report addressed management and authority over student fees, accumulation and spending of reserves, expenditure of funds, application of inflationary increases to the fees, and allocation of return-to-aid funds. The report contained many helpful findings, including: that funds have been expended appropriately and return-to-aid provisions have been allocated correctly; that the governance and management structure for the oversight of the fees could be strengthened; and that certain reporting procedures could be enhanced to better fulfill the university’s transparency initiatives.</p>
<p><em><a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/upload/users/student_fee_review_09.2017.pdf">Student Fee Review</a></em></p>
<h2>Counseling Services</h2>
<h5>Audit and Management Advisory Services Project 17-67</h5>
<p>The audit evaluated uses of funds earmarked for Counseling Services, whether access to clinical services increased since 2014, reviewed metrics associated with accessibility, and analyzed the administrative structure of Student Health and Counseling Services. The report concluded that uses of funds earmarked for Counseling Services were generally appropriate, that access to services is slowly expanding, and that students who are able to access services are very satisfied with the quality of services provided by Counseling Services. There were several opportunities for improvement that Student Health and Counseling Services has already taken or is actively pursuing.</p>
<p><em><a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/upload/users/counseling_services_12.2017.pdf">Counseling Services audit report</a></em></p>Toward Holistic Review in Graduate Admissionshttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/toward-holistic-review-graduate-admissions
UC Davis is leading a project to develop holistic review methods for graduate admissions in selected humanities programs on two UC campuses to increase equity and inclusivity for all applicants.https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/toward-holistic-review-graduate-admissionsTue, 13 Feb 2018 14:56:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>UC Davis is leading a project to develop holistic review methods for graduate admissions in selected humanities programs on two UC campuses to increase equity and inclusivity for all applicants.</p>
<p>The 4½-year project, supported by a $1,195,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, is a collaboration with UCLA and the University of Southern California. It will bring together faculty from interested graduate programs and graduate groups to develop holistic methods in eight humanities and humanistic social science graduate programs at each UC campus. Holistic review considers a wide range of applicant attributes and skills in addition to academic measures.</p>
<p>“We are excited because, ultimately, this project has the potential not only to reach across our 10-campus system, but also to reach peer institutions nationwide,” said Prasant Mohapatra, vice provost for Graduate Education and dean of Graduate Studies at UC Davis. He is the principal investigator for the project.</p>
<h2><strong>Diversity at the graduate level</strong></h2>
<p>Scholarship demonstrates that equitable admission processes result in increased numbers of applicants with more diverse backgrounds, said Josephine Moreno, the graduate diversity academic coordinator for humanities, arts, social sciences and education at UC Davis.</p>
<p>Like UC Davis, many research universities are making strides in the diversity of their undergraduate students and are launching initiatives to increase faculty diversity. Graduate student diversity is needed to increase diversity in the professoriate, added Moreno, who is project director.</p>
<p>However, the percentages of students from historically underrepresented populations in graduate programs remain significantly lower than in undergraduate programs and in the U.S. population, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.</p>
<p>Four of the eight UC Davis graduate programs to be involved in the new project will be identified by the spring quarter. The other four programs will be added in the third year of the grant.</p>
<p>UC Davis disciplines included in an exploratory year for the project, supported by a $150,000 seed grant from the Mellon Foundation, included French, Spanish, music, sociology, education and — for comparison purposes — biology, mechanical engineering, plant sciences and physics.</p>
<h2><strong>Barriers identified</strong></h2>
<p>The new project, called the Alliance for Multicampus, Inclusive Graduate Admissions (AMIGA), aims to overcome admission barriers identified in the exploratory year. These included too little information on graduate program websites, a constrained application platform, a heavy reliance on metrics and a decentralized admission process.</p>
<p>Claire Goldstein, associate professor of French, is one of three faculty advisers to the project. “The tools and methods developed in the AMIGA project will create a more equitable framework for the application process,” she said, “and help graduate programs uncover a broader pool of talented students by using methods that focus on students' potential for success.”</p>
<p>The UC system has been a leader in piloting and adopting holistic review for undergraduate admissions, but few such efforts exist for graduate admissions in the state or nation. However, the Council of Graduate Schools and other higher education organizations encourage holistic review at the graduate level.</p>
<h2><strong>Development modules for faculty</strong></h2>
<p>AMIGA will work with faculty leadership and deans to develop and implement a sustainable system of holistic review in the participating programs. Serving as advisor and assessment lead for the project will be Julie Posselt, an assistant professor of higher education at USC. She is the author of <em>Inside Graduate Admissions: Merit, Diversity, and Faculty Gatekeeping</em>, which sheds light on barriers to and opportunities for equity in graduate education.</p>
<p>The project will design and deliver faculty development modules on inclusive admissions and initiate faculty-to-faculty training as well as host two forums to disseminate inclusive graduate education scholarship and practices.</p>
<p>Moreno and Teresa Dillinger, also of Graduate Studies, <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/employee-leads-national-career-project-doctoral-students-scholars">led their Graduate Career Consortium colleagues in the creation</a> of <a href="https://www.imaginephd.com/">ImaginePhD</a>, a free online tool for career exploration and planning for doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars in the humanities and social sciences. It launched in October.</p>
<p>The Mellon Foundation of New York City makes grants to strengthen, promote and support the contributions of the humanities and the arts to human flourishing and the well-being of diverse and democratic societies.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/UCDavisDateline"><em>Follow </em>Dateline UC Davis<em> on Twitter.</em></a></p>Alan Alda Workshop: Connect to Communicatehttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/alan-alda-workshop-connect-communicate
“Hi, I’m Alan Alda. I’m a world-famous actor.”https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/alan-alda-workshop-connect-communicateTue, 13 Feb 2018 14:01:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>“Hi, I’m Alan Alda. I’m a world-famous actor.”</p>
<p>He didn’t really need to introduce himself. Alda has starred in movies and television (perhaps most famously as Capt. Benjamin “Hawkeye” Pierce in <em>M.A.S.H.</em>), and hosted <em>Scientific American Frontiers </em>on PBS for 11 years<em>. </em>After interviewing hundreds of scientists, he wondered, what if we taught improvisation to scientists to help them connect to their audiences?</p>
<aside class="wysiwyg-feature-block width-half align-right"><h3 class="wysiwyg-feature-block__title">Alan Alda: ‘Scientific American’</h3>
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<p><a href="https://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/alan-alda-scientific-american-speaks-at-uc-davis/"><em>The Davis Enterprise </em>covers Alda’s Mondavi Center talk Jan. 31.</a></p>
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</aside><p>That’s now the focus of the <a href="https://www.aldacenter.org/">Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science</a>, headquartered at Stony Brook University in New York. </p>
<p>For three days, Feb 1-3, I was one of 55 scientists, faculty, students and staff members taking part in the center’s training at UC Davis. Not everyone attending these workshops gets a personal welcome from the center’s namesake. But Alda was fresh from his public talk at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts the night before, and before we got started, he had some words of advice for us about improv.</p>
<p>“It’s so good to go through it as long as you’re not frightened to death by it,” he told us. “Lend yourself to it. You don’t have to be afraid.”</p>
<h2><strong>Improv, improve</strong></h2>
<p>When people think of improv, many think of comedy and acting.</p>
<p>But this wasn’t about either. Above all, it was about connecting with other people and being genuine. There was very little “talking at” us by the trainers. They mostly took us through experiences so we could feel for ourselves what it was like to connect, and then draw upon that when it came time for us to communicate.</p>
<p>They reminded us that most communication is nonverbal, so that’s where we began.</p>
<p>There was a powerful exercise where, in groups of two, we mirrored each other’s actions. We laughed as we created infomercials with two minutes of team planning. We teared up as we listened to people paint word pictures of their favorite photographs and describe what they mean to them. We got to rant for a minute while our partners turned our words into positive statements about what we value. For example: “This is Kat, and she values fairness.”</p>
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<figure class="image"><img alt="People in groups of two, seated, facing each other" height="397" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/resize/news/campus-news/2018/feb/alda-kerlin-seated2-925-724x397.png" width="724" /><figcaption>Kerlin participates in an improv exercise with Todd Newman, a postdoctoral research associate at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. Foreground: Rebecca Calisi Rodríguez, assistant professor of neurology, physiology and behavior; and Carson Jeffres, field and lab director of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. (Gregory Urquiaga/UC Davis)</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>We also learned about the art of “Yes, and ....” It’s one of the first rules of improv: Rather than negate what the other person is saying, accept and use it to expand upon a thought. (“Yes, that is really upsetting. And that’s why ….”)</p>
<p>While “yes, but” is an incredibly tempting default for many of us, it’s not very effective in improv, or, it turns out, communication.</p>
<p>On the first day, these and other exercises set the stage. They provided us with an emotionally safe place to open up and become vulnerable, allowing us to internalize what connection felt like. Once the connection foundation was laid, we could better delve into what we wanted to say, as well as how to say it, through mock interviews and practice with our peers and trainers. </p>
<h2><strong>See and be seen </strong></h2>
<p>As a science writer and media relations specialist at UC Davis, I’ve attended and presented at several science communication workshops. I’ve interviewed hundreds of scientists and helped them prepare for media interviews. I’m generally the person behind the scenes. It’s a lot harder to do when you’re the one talking to the public.</p>
<figure class="image align-right"><img alt="Women stand facing each other." height="301" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/resize/news/campus-news/2018/feb/alda-kerlin-standing2-750-471x301.png" width="471" /><figcaption>Kerlin and workshop partner Alessandra Lanzara, a physics professor at UC Berkeley. (Gregory Urquiaga/UC Davis)</figcaption></figure><p>In this training, I was not just an observer but a full participant. I had to think on my feet, be “on” all day, and “perform” in front of a room full of scientists and faculty. Some of them view <em>me</em> as a science communication expert. (Cue the imposter syndrome.) This pushed me out of my comfort zone, but in a good way.</p>
<p>It gave me a small glimpse of what our scientists experience all the time in reaching out to the public. They do their work and then they put themselves out there. They don’t always know their audiences or how those audiences will receive what is being presented. Sometimes those audiences are hostile; sometimes they’re adoring. Usually it’s somewhere in between. But the process of communication takes time and a willingness to listen and engage, to see and be seen.</p>
<h2><strong>Life skills</strong></h2>
<p>By the end of the second day, I was completely exhausted. Several of the other participants — doctors, neuroscientists, ecologists, engineers —said the same thing, remarking on early bedtimes the night before and a general sense that this was more intense than they had expected, yet also rewarding. </p>
<p>In the nearly two weeks since the workshop, I haven’t had to use the tools I learned in a media interview, but I’ve found myself dipping into them during work meetings, interactions with my friends, my kids, my mom. I’ve been trying — trying — to listen and connect, not just talk and explain.</p>
<p>The training has made me think about how to be a “yes, and” kind of person more often. These are not just skills for PowerPoint presentations, media interviews and policy briefings. These are skills we can learn throughout our lives, with our jobs, our families, our children, our friends. </p>
<p>In the spirit of communication and connection, I’ll share with you a few notes to self I wrote at the end of the training:</p>
<ul><li>Try to drain out the noise and chatter in your head and focus.</li>
<li>Know you’ve got this.</li>
<li>Take time to think through your main points.</li>
<li>Know you deserve to be here.</li>
<li>Trust your instincts.</li>
<li>Know this of the mistakes and the hard, hostile audiences — you can learn from them, too. You can learn about who you are.</li>
</ul><h2 class="heading--underline">Science communication resources at UC Davis</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://strategiccommunications.ucdavis.edu/">Office of Strategic Communications</a> offers monthly communications training to faculty. Contact: Mary Nauer, <a href="mailto:manauer@ucdavis.edu">manauer@ucdavis.edu</a>.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://watershed.ucdavis.edu/SPEAK">SPEAK (Scientists for Public Engagement and Knowledge)</a></strong><a href="https://watershed.ucdavis.edu/SPEAK"><strong>,</strong></a> through the Center for Watershed Sciences, offers a variety of science communication seminars throughout the year. Contact: Megan Nguyen, <a href="mailto:meknguyen@ucdavis.edu">meknguyen@ucdavis.edu</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://davissciencesays.com"><strong>Science SAYS</strong></a> is a team of graduate students offering science communication training to UC Davis students. </p>3 Mythbusters About Humanities Majorshttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/3-mythbusters-about-humanities-majors
Humanities academic advisor debunks criticisms about humanities majors, showing the personal and vocational potential as well as the overall real-world value.https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/3-mythbusters-about-humanities-majorsTue, 13 Feb 2018 09:38:00 -0800UC Davis News FeedInvesting in the Futurehttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/investing-future
Mechanical engineering student Eunbee Park ’19, computer science and engineering student Max Nedorezov ‘19 and civil engineering students Claudia Plascencia ’19 and Tadewos Getachew ’19 are just a few of the students at University of California, Davis, who have the chance to achieve their dreams https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/investing-futureMon, 12 Feb 2018 17:19:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>Mechanical engineering student Eunbee Park ’19, computer science and engineering student Max Nedorezov ‘19 and civil engineering students Claudia Plascencia ’19 and Tadewos Getachew ’19 are just a few of the students at University of California, Davis, who have the chance to achieve their dreams thanks to the growing <a href="http://avenuee.ucdavis.edu">Avenue<sup>E</sup> program</a>.</p>
<p>The program was developed in 2016 by UC Davis Office of the Provost and founding corporate partner, Chevron, in collaboration with the Koret Foundation, and the Los Rios, Peralta, San Joaquin Delta and Contra Costa Community College districts to provide a smooth transition from community college to UC Davis for students interested in engineering or <a href="http://www.cs.ucdavis.edu">computer science</a>.</p>
<p>There are currently 26 students in the Avenue<sup>E</sup> program, but over the next two years the number of students will increase. There will be four cohorts, each totaling 30 students – 60 students will be enrolled at UC Davis, while 60 additional students will be in the program in the community college pipeline.</p>
<p>“Avenue<sup>E</sup> performs the critically important function of helping talented and motivated transfer students in STEM succeed and complete their undergraduate degree at UC Davis,” said Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter. “The program enhances the university’s ability to serve students from all backgrounds — and change lives. In addition, Avenue<sup>E</sup> students enrich our community with new perspectives and priorities.”</p>
<p>Avenue<sup>E</sup> helps high-potential, low-resource students achieve their dreams in growing, high-demand fields. First-generation college students make up 80 percent of the Avenue<sup>E</sup> 2017 cohort. Additionally, 50 percent of participants are from historically underrepresented groups, and 30 percent are female, with many students falling into two or more of these groups.</p>
<p>“There’s a very strong need for engineers to solve problems and create innovative solutions to address challenges in our society,” said Cynthia Murphy-Ortega, Chevron University Partnership Program manager. “The Avenue<sup>E </sup>program is one of the engineering pathways programs that Chevron is developing to support diversity and inclusion as well as inspire future engineers.”</p>
<h2>Building a bridge between community colleges and UC Davis</h2>
<p>Avenue<sup>E</sup> students get a unique opportunity to join an intensive transfer preparatory program prior to entering their final year at community college. The following summer, the students embark on a two-week summer bridge program prior to beginning their first quarter at UC Davis. During these two weeks, the students are immersed in the Davis area and the UC Davis community as they learn about all the resources available to them as students of UC Davis.</p>
<p>“The Avenue<sup>E</sup> program helps the University of California address some of its highest priorities: supporting California community college transfer students, increasing diversity in STEM fields, and expanding educational and research opportunity for all of our students,” said UC President Janet Napolitano.</p>
<p>The program is in addition to the resources already available to all transfer students through the campus Transfer and Reentry Center, which helps transfer and reentry students connect with campus resources, develop academic skills, find community and prepare for career or graduate school.</p>
<p>Each Avenue<sup>E</sup> cohort member receives a scholarly award for the <a href="http://avenuee.ucdavis.edu/transfer-bridge/">Transfer Bridge</a> summer program, as well as up to $4,000 for the two subsequent years at UC Davis. Students also get the chance to attend group outings, social activities, speaker presentations and workshops that provide opportunities to engage in peer-to-peer learning, community building and career exploration.</p>
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<div class="media-link__figure"><img alt="Closeup of Claudia Plascenia" height="165" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/upload/users/claudiasquare.jpg" width="164" /></div>
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<h3 class="media-link__title">Meet Four of the Participating Students</h3>
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<p>We introduce you to four of the students participating in AvenueE. They all transferred to UC Davis from the Los Rios Community College District.</p>
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<p>“We are lucky to have such a great program that helps us connect to all the amazing resources UC Davis offers for students,” said Park.</p>
<p>The cohort meets weekly to discuss topics or hear a guest speaker, which is coordinated by Nancy Davis, an undergraduate student advisor in the <a href="http://engineering.ucdavis.edu">College of Engineering</a> and Avenue<sup>E</sup> academic advisor.</p>
<p>“My favorite part is seeing how the students grow in confidence,” Davis said. “They begin unsure of how they will succeed at UC Davis, then they make their way through class, learn how to create a resume that will help them find an internship or undergraduate research and eventually go on to a meaningful career.”</p>
<p>Participating students receive intensive personal and professional development coaching to build strong resumes and cover letters and create connections with the Internship and Career Center, where they can identify available opportunities in their field of choice.</p>
<p>Getachew, for example, hopes to do more research in the area of solar energy and attain a graduate degree.</p>
<p>“I want to create new knowledge and do something no one has ever done before,” he said. “The Avenue<sup>E</sup> summer bridge program has introduced me to undergraduate research programs that can help me get started in my path towards attaining a Ph.D.”</p>Campus Safetyhttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/campus-safety-0
The safety of students, staff and faculty is always a high priority. The campus has many resources to help our campus community to remain safe.https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/campus-safety-0Mon, 12 Feb 2018 11:03:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>The safety of students, staff and faculty is always a high priority. The campus has many resources to help our campus community to remain safe.</p>
<ul><li><strong>Emergency —</strong> Call 911 or 530-752-1230.</li>
<li><strong>If you have concerns about campus safety, </strong>you can call UC Davis police at <strong>530-754-COPS (2677). <a href="http://police.ucdavis.edu/divisions_services/support_services/online-reporting/index.html">Police reports</a> </strong>can also be made online at any time.</li>
</ul><h2><strong>Get a ride </strong></h2>
<ul><li><a href="http://police.ucdavis.edu/divisions_services/campus_security/safe_rides.html">Safe Rides</a> — The UC Davis Police Department promotes student safety on and off campus through the Safe Rides program. There is wheelchair accessible service as well as a TapRide app for Safe Rides and Tipsy Taxi.</li>
<li><a href="https://tipsytaxi.ucdavis.edu/">Tipsy Taxi</a><em> </em>gives rides from anywhere in the city of Davis. </li>
<li><strong>Cycling safety — </strong>UC Davis is known for being bicycle friendly. Check out these <a href="http://taps.ucdavis.edu/bicycle/education/safety">safety tips</a>.</li>
</ul><h2><strong>Call for backup and support</strong></h2>
<ul><li><strong>Get a virtual safety escort,</strong> call 911, send eyewitness reports via text, all on<em> </em><a href="http://police.ucdavis.edu/aggie_guardian/"><strong>Aggie Guardian</strong></a><em><strong>,</strong></em><em> </em>a mobile app for personal safety that is available to all who have an "ucdavis.edu" email address.<em> </em></li>
<li><strong>Sign up for <a href="https://warnme.ucdavis.edu/">UC Davis WarnMe</a> messages, </strong>which provide faculty, staff and students with timely information and instructions during emergencies or other urgent situations.</li>
<li><strong>Emergency in the arboretum or on the West Village bike path? </strong>Blue emergency call stations improve safety through immediate access to first responders with the touch of a button, and can activate a camera for video coverage in the area. More blue emergency call stations are planned.</li>
<li><strong>UC Davis<em> </em><a href="http://care.ucdavis.edu/">Center for Advocacy, Resources and Education</a><em>, </em>or CARE, </strong>is an on-campus, confidential resource<em> </em>providing support services for survivors of sexual assault, intimate partner violence and/or stalking<em>. </em>For emergency response, a victim advocate is available 24/7; call (866) 515-0155.</li>
<li><strong>More resources </strong>on preventing and reporting sexual misconduct are available only: <a href="http://sexualviolence.ucdavis.edu">http://sexualviolence.ucdavis.edu.</a></li>
</ul><h2><strong>Outreach</strong></h2>
<ul><li><strong>In UC Davis’ ongoing efforts to improve lighting on campus,</strong> the university holds an annual Safety Lighting Walk. In this event, students are encouraged to work with police in teams to identify lighting deficiencies so Facilities management can make repairs and enhancements.</li>
<li><strong>Active Shooter Survival Workshops </strong>are open to students, faculty and staff. The presentation covers the national standard concepts of RUN! HIDE! FIGHT!</li>
<li><strong>Crime Prevention Services —</strong> We’ll come to you to help you assess your specific situation.</li>
</ul>Mental Health Carehttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/mental-health-care
Student Health and Counseling Services at UC Davis is committed to supporting the mental health and well-being of our students. The campus continues to increase the counseling and other mental health services available to students and to improve access.https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/mental-health-careMon, 12 Feb 2018 10:50:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>Student Health and Counseling Services at UC Davis is committed to supporting the mental health and well-being of our students. The campus continues to increase the counseling and other mental health services available to students and to improve access.</p>
<ul><li><strong>Counseling Services</strong> has 28.5 full-time-equivalent counselors and plans to hire three more by 2020. The Behavioral Health Clinic at the Student Health and Wellness Center has 3.5 FTE psychiatrists.</li>
<li><strong>Our Counseling Services staff speak several languages </strong>including English, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, Taiwanese, Urdu and Vietnamese.</li>
<li><strong>A new scheduling model </strong>enables students to make appointments up to two weeks in advance.</li>
</ul><h2>Choose what works for you</h2>
<p>The campus offers help in a variety of ways including individual counseling, group counseling, educational workshops and self-care resources.</p>
<h2>Access services where you feel comfortable</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/counseling-services">Counseling Services’ </a>main location is in North Hall. The Student Health and Wellness Center houses both the <a href="https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/services/medical-services/behavioral-medicine">Behavioral Health Clinic</a> and <a href="https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/acute-care-clinic">Acute Care</a>, which includes mental health care services.</li>
<li><strong>Counselors </strong>are also in four colleges, three professional schools and Graduate Studies.</li>
<li>The <a href="https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/services/can">Community Advising Network</a>, a diverse team of counselors, provide services at several student centers for historically underserved populations and other locations.</li>
<li><strong>The <a href="http://care.ucdavis.edu">Center for Advocacy Resources and Education, or CARE,</a> </strong>provides support services for survivors of sexual assault, intimate partner violence and/or stalking. For emergency response, a victim advocate is available 24/7; call (866) 515-0155.</li>
<li><strong>Check out the interactive <a href="https://eachaggiematters.ucdavis.edu/resources/mental-health-map">Mental Health Map</a>.</strong></li>
</ul><h2>Talk with someone</h2>
<ul><li><strong>For individual counseling, </strong>make an appointment in person or call 530-752-2349.</li>
<li><strong>As another option, schedule a 45-minute appointment</strong> to talk online with a licensed therapist or psychologist.</li>
<li><strong>After hours, get a Counseling Services consultation</strong> by calling 530-752-2349 or 752-2300.</li>
</ul><h2>Get involved</h2>
<ul><li><strong>Ask about serving on the new Student Health Advisory Committee t</strong>o review services and help develop new programs to meet the needs of students.</li>
<li><strong>Join <a href="https://eachaggiematters.ucdavis.edu">Each Aggie Matters</a>, </strong>which brings the campus community together to raise awareness about mental health issues and destigmatize mental illness.</li>
<li><strong>Learn how to support others </strong>through training in mental health first aid. </li>
</ul>Student Housinghttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/student-housing-0
Access to housing is a critical challenge throughout California.https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/student-housing-0Mon, 12 Feb 2018 10:41:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>Access to housing is a critical challenge throughout California. UC Davis is pursuing the most ambitious student housing construction initiative in the history of the university – one that exceeds the university’s planned enrollment growth and could provide many options for future students to live on campus with easy access to academic resources.</p>
<h2>New housing planned</h2>
<ul><li><strong>UC Davis recently announced </strong>that it is raising its goal for new on-campus student housing in its Long Range Development Plan to 8,500 beds from 6,200. This increase would bring the number of beds from 9,818 in 2016-17 to 18,318 at full implementation.</li>
<li><strong>The campus has started construction on Webster Hall,</strong> which will accommodate 400 students and is projected for completion in 2019. Elsewhere, the old Orchard Park family housing facilities have been vacated and will soon be replaced by a new Orchard Park, which will include apartments for 1,400 students. A portion of the units will be rented at below-market rates.</li>
<li><strong>The proposed expansion of West Village</strong> identifies housing for up to 3,800 students.</li>
</ul><h2>Where to go for help to find housing</h2>
<ul><li><strong>Student Housing and Dining Services </strong>professional staff and property managers in the city of Davis host workshops in fall and winter quarters to help students prepare to look for and secure housing. Topics covered include finding an apartment, living with a roommate, the importance of credit and finance, and leases.</li>
<li><strong>ASUCD (Associated Students of UC Davis) </strong>hosts an annual Housing Day to help students find housing for the following year. Representatives from many Davis apartment complexes provide information on complexes, floor plans and rental rates.</li>
<li><strong>To learn more </strong>about the various kinds of student housing available, visit our c<a href="http://housing.ucdavis.edu">ampus housing site</a> and <a href="https://chl.ucdavis.edu">community housing listings.</a></li>
</ul><h2>Watch for it</h2>
<p>Coming soon is the Aggie Compass, a one-stop location for help with housing, food and other basic needs. It will be located adjacent to the UC Davis Market in the Memorial Union.</p>
<h2>Recent projects</h2>
<p>Last fall, three new residence halls, called the Tercero 4 complex, opened. This complex can accommodate 506 students.</p>Food Access and Securityhttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/food-access-and-security
The UC Global Food Initiative is marshalling university resources to address the critical issue of how to sustainably and nutritiously feed the world. It includes food security and access at the campus level.https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/food-access-and-securityMon, 12 Feb 2018 10:39:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>The UC Global Food Initiative is marshalling university resources to address the critical issue of how to sustainably and nutritiously feed the world. It includes food security and access at the campus level. At UC Davis, the initiative is helping the campus community work together to improve and expand services and programs to meet students’ needs.</p>
<h2><strong>Find food</strong></h2>
<ul><li>The <a href="http://foodconnection.ucdavis.edu/">Aggie Food Connection</a> website helps students in need know where they can find free food and other assistance to eat nutritiously on a budget. It includes campus and other resources.</li>
<li><a href="http://thepantry.ucdavis.edu/index.html">The Pantry</a>, an organization of the Associated Students of UC Davis, provides food and toiletries to all students with a UC Davis identification card. Open daily during the school week, it is located in Room 21 of Lower Freeborn.</li>
<li><a href="http://foodconnection.ucdavis.edu/find-food">Fruit & Veggie Up!</a> provides free produce for UC Davis students. Fresh from the UC Davis Student Farm, Tandem Farm, the David Food Co-op and Nugget Markets, the food is available at the Memorial Union information desk Tuesdays and Wednesdays.</li>
<li>The <a href="http://farmersmarket.ucdavis.edu/">UC Davis Farmers Market</a> brings fresh fruits, vegetables and more to campus. An extension of the Davis Farmers Market, it is on the Quad each Wednesday during the fall and spring quarters.</li>
<li>Got EBT? You can use the Electronic Benefits Transfer card for government benefits to pay at three locations on campus: the Coffee House, the UC Davis Market and the UC Davis Farmer’s Market. More locations are coming soon.</li>
</ul><h2><strong>Get financial help</strong></h2>
<ul><li>Students can be eligible for <a href="http://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/calfresh">CalFresh</a>, monthly government benefits to assist low-income households with their food budget. To start, <a href="http://getcalfresh.org/s/ucd">go online</a> or text FOOD to 74544. A CalFresh representative is on campus weekdays at The Pantry and the Memorial Union Information Desk.</li>
<li>Financial Aid and Scholarships <a href="http://financialaid.ucdavis.edu/loans/short-term.html">emergency, short-term and other loans</a>.</li>
<li>Student-run, <a href="https://weareaggiepride.ucdavis.edu/">We Are Aggie Pride</a> provides emergency grants to cover rent, books and other essentials.</li>
</ul><h2><strong>Learn to cook</strong></h2>
<ul><li>The <a href="https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/services/nutrition-services/teaching-kitchen">Teaching Kitchen</a> at the Student Health and Wellness Center hosts free cooking classes to teach food preparation and cooking skills as well as nutrition and meal planning. Its collection of easy, affordable and nutrition-packed recipes is available online at the <a href="https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/one-balanced-kitchen">Balanced Kitchen</a>.</li>
</ul><h2><strong>Watch for it</strong></h2>
<ul><li>Coming soon is the Aggie Compass, a one-stop location for help with food, housing and other basic needs. It will be located adjacent to the UC Davis Market in the Memorial Union.</li>
</ul>Meet Some of the Participating Studentshttps://www.ucdavis.edu/news/meet-some-participating-students
We introduce you to four of th AvenueE students. They all transferred to UC Davis from the Los Rios Community College District.https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/meet-some-participating-studentsMon, 12 Feb 2018 09:05:00 -0800UC Davis News Feed<p>We introduce you to four of th Avenue<sup>E</sup> students. They all transferred to UC Davis from the Los Rios Community College District.</p>
<h2>Tadewos Getachew</h2>
<p class="align-center"><img alt="Tadevos Getachew stands outside" height="456" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/upload/users/tadewos-getachew72.jpg" width="810" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Getachew, a first-generation college students, is interested in doing research in solar energy and water resources. "Avenue<sup>E</sup> was definitely a big factor in my decision to attend UC Davis", he said." There are many students that could benefit from this amazing program.”</p>
<h2>Max Nedorezov</h2>
<p class="align-center"><img alt="Max Nedorezov stands outside" height="456" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/upload/users/max_nedorezov72.jpg" width="810" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p>A native of Sacramento, Nedorezov wanted to attend UC Davis and stay local. He is interested programming computer software that works with computer hardware. “One of the biggest benefits of Avenue<sup>E</sup> is having resources that not only help your education, but also your career goals," he said. "I have had opportunities in research, as well as mentorships with faculty thanks to the Avenue<sup>E</sup> program."</p>
<h2>Eunbee Park</h2>
<p class="align-center"><img alt="Eunbee Park standing outside" height="456" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/upload/users/eunbee-park72.jpg" width="810" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Park, whose older brother graduated from UC Davis this past summer, is the only mechanical engineering student in this year's cohort. "Avenue<sup>E</sup> has given me a lot of useful information on how to prepare for my future career,” she said.</p>
<h2>Claudia Plascencia</h2>
<p class="align-center"><img alt="Claudia Plascenia stands outside" height="456" src="https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/upload/users/claudia72.jpg" width="810" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Plascencia came to the United States and learned English through conversation. She wants to continue to do research and possibly get a doctorate. “This experience has been amazing," she said. "I don’t know where I would be without the Avenue<sup>E</sup> program.”</p>
<p> </p>